Uttar Pradesh roads will soon vie with those in America if the Adityanath government is given another five-year term in the state, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.
The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways made the assertion while laying foundation stones for three national highway projects worth Rs 1,123 crore here along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
“If UP continues to grow under the double-engine governments (of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Centre and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in UP) for another five years, the UP roads will not only surpass European standards but will vie with those in America,” asserted Gadkari.
“Mark my words. They are lines carved in stones,” he said, seeking to assure the audience attending the rally on the occasion.
Underlining the contribution of roads to the growth of the economy of a country, Gadkari recalled the famous quote of former US President John F Kennedy: “American roads are not good because America is rich but America is rich because American roads are good.”
Gadkari said all road-building work and other developmental ventures of his ministry “stayed stalled” when he joined PM Modi’s Cabinet in 2014.
They were, however, expedited by the PM, he said, adding “the picture of UP has changed now”.
Giving details of expenditure on building roads in UP since 2014, Gadkari said projects worth Rs 1.40 lakh crore have already been completed in the state and projects worth Rs 1.80 lakh crore are under progress.
More than Rs 45,000 crore have been spent on land acquisition and other related works, he added.
“More than Rs 3 lakh crore have been spent in UP by my ministry since 2014 and if the double engine government is allowed to work for another five years, this will be raised to Rs 5 lakh crore,” Gadkari said and asked people to mark his words.
Hailing Chief Minister Adityanath work in tackling mafias and criminal elements, Gadkari said “if law and order is good, investment comes pouring”.
“There is no dearth of anything in UP. It is an affluent state but with poor people. I cannot understand how the people here have remained poor in a rich state,” he wondered.
Targeting Congress and the Samajwadi Party for allegedly pursuing “pariwarwadi” (dynastic) politics, Gadkari said, “It was the height of the dynastic politics in India that PMs were borne out of the womb of a PM, an MP from the womb of an MP and MLAs from the wombs of MLAs.”
“It is the BJP which has ended this dynastic politics,” said Gadkari.
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Gadkari said India too will be a prosperous and successful country in the coming years as Indian road infrastructure will be up to the standards of the US and Europe. Citing reasons for delay in road projects prior to 2014, the minister said the pace of construction was 12.7 km per day then and many projects had stalled due to land acquisition, court cases and financial problems.
Addressing an event here, the road transport and highways minister said that there is a huge opportunity for investors in India’s infrastructure sector as the traffic density is rising every year.”Our (state-owned NHAI’s) current toll income is Rs 40,000 crore. It will rise to Rs 1.40 lakh crore in the next three years,” he said.