Kashmir to Kanyakumari by road? Union minister Nitin Gadkari shares roadmap for much-awaited highway

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said that the Centre is all set to build an expressway to connect Kashmir to Kanyakumari, which will be built via an access control road. He said that the total length of National Highways in the country has gone up to 1,44,634 km, as of 30 November 2022, from a mere 92,000 km.

Earlier, Gadkari had said that the new road network would reduce the distance between Delhi and Chennai by 1,312 kilometres.

He added that the road infrastructure in India has improved manifold and by the end of next year, Indian road infrastructure will be as good as the US.

"Before the end of 2024, our road infrastructure will be equal to US' standard," Gadkari said at the second edition of the BT India@100 Summit.

He added that PM Narendra Modi has prioritised water, power, transport and communication. Therefore, there has been a focus on building robust infrastructure.

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Talking about his ministry's plans, he said that the ministry is planning to introduces built, operate, transfer (BOT) model to freight trucks in a bid to greatly reduce logistics costs in India, which are among the highest in the world.

“Presently, our logistics cost is 14-16 per cent. In China it is 9-10 per cent and in most European countries 12 per cent. I am confident of [reducing] it to a single digit to 9 per cent by the end of 2024,” he said.

Talking about road safety, Gadkari said that the government is devising plans ranging from signage to marking. He stressed that road safety is a lot of personal choices and initiatives.

"We are taking all preventive measures of international standards from signage to marking," the minister said at the BT India@100 Summit.

Talking about the electric vehicle transition happening in India, Gadkari said if it was in his hands, he would have phased out fossil fuel vehicles in 5 years. "If it is in my hands, I would phase out fuel cars within 5 years. It is difficult but not impossible."

He added: "There is so much pollution in Delhi. Mostly it is because of the fossil fuel cars. Hydrogen is the futuristic fuel. There is no pollution. We are coming up with Toyota's Flex engine Innova in Delhi on August 29. It will be 100% on ethanol."

The Narendra Modi-led government has set a target of achieving 30 per cent electric vehicle sales by 2030. 

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