Belagavi(Karnataka): Laying the foundation stone in Belgavi for five National Highway projects in North Karnataka on Monday, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said India will make roads following the American model by 2024.
"Every development relies on road connectivity. So, the government is committed to strengthening the road network," Gadkari said during the event. "We will strive to improve Indian roads to global standards in a few years. We have plans to develop national and State highways like in the USA," he further added.
"We had got a proposal from MLA Abhay Patil for a flyover for Belagavi city. But the clearance was delayed due to some local constraints. If the Karnataka Govt clears all local hurdles, the project would be completed shortly," he also said.
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"Scope of 'Bharatmala-2' project would be expanded by including more road networks and related projects. For example, the driving distance between Pune and Bengaluru would be reduced by 100 km in the next phase," Gadkari noted. The Bharatmala Pariyojana is a centrally-sponsored and funded road and Highways project of the Government of India.
The 9,000-km greenfield highways project is being undertaken at a cost of Rs 3 lakh crore. This includes the Bengaluru-Chennai stretch too, he said. He said the quality of the Delhi-Mumbai highway had been improved to such an extent that the average speed of commuters is 120 km per hour, and people are covering the distance of 1,400 km in less than 12 hours.
The Union Government is trying to create industrial villages and tourism clusters along highways if state governments take up the task of acquiring additional land for such purposes. This will not only reduce traffic congestion but also reduce the pressure on cities, he said.
Gadkari hoped that the new highways that will come up between Karnataka and Maharashtra will speed up industrialisation, and help sugarcane farmers transport their produce to factories easily.
