Nitin Gadkari Led Road Ministry Plans Townships And Industrial Clusters Along Highways, To Seek Cabinet Approval

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that his ministry will be pursuing the cabinet’s approval to construct townships, smart cities, industrial clusters and logistic parks along the national highways.

He revealed during a virtual meeting that the ministry had prepared a plan of action to generate infrastructure-related capital through monetizing the existing highway projects.

“And now we have prepared a cabinet note for approval ....for making roadside townships, smart cities, logistic parks, and industrial clusters. We are making 400 roadside amenities,” Gadkari’s statement was quoted in a report by The Economic Times.

Meanwhile, the senior minister also revealed that they consider shelling out a massive Rs 2.5 lakh crore in constructing tunnels. The ministry also aims to use innovation and research to cut down the usage of steel and cement in building roads without compromising on the quality of the same.

Gadkari stressed using components such as ethanol, LPG, and CNG in the road equipment machinery and encouraged furthering import substitution and pollution-free, cost-effective, and other indigenous methods to develop alternative fuel.

The 64-year-old added that increasing the investment in infrastructure will also assist in creating new employment opportunities amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.