Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that the Centre has already begun construction of a new Mumbai-Pune highway that will reduce travel time between the two cities to one and a half hours.
“In my previous visit, I had declared that the union government would undertake road and highway construction projects worth Rs 50,000 crore in Pune district. I have asked the Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to hold a foundation laying function in the next 15 days in which work on projects worth Rs 15,000 crore would be started. Also, by the end of December this year, work of Rs 50,000 crore will also be started and studies are underway for more work of Rs 15,000 crore to be taken up,” Gadkari said after receiving the Lokmanya Tilak Rashtriya Puraskar from the Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Trust in the city.
The Minister said,” A new Mumbai-Pune highway is being constructed, which will start from the beautifully constructed Atal tunnel — planning for which was done during my time — to the proposed Pune Ring Road and reduce travel time between Mumbai to Pune to one and a half hours. The work has already started as I don’t have time to lay the foundation stone. This highway will then head towards Bangalore reducing the travel time to five hours from Pune to there.”
The elevated roads on highways in Pune district have been planned for which work will start soon, he said adding there was no shortage of money or technology in the country but lack of sincerity of people to do the work.
Gadkari said infrastructure work worth Rs 2 lakh crore was being undertaken around Pune district. “Only I know how I managed to get land for the expansion of Pune airport. The Pune metro was also delayed, but I made it clear that the work for Pune metro should start soon.”
“There is a need for development projects in Pune and they will be done now. There will be no discrimination among cities on development issues,” he said.
Earlier, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde praised Gadkari for transforming the country through a network of roads and highways. “One of the most performing ministers in the cabinet led by PM Narendra Modi. In the past, the we had to go to other countries to see their infrastructure, but now the world is coming to see ours,” said Fadnavis.
Trust chairperson Rohit Tilak said the award was conferred upon Nitin Gadkari for his efforts in nation building, which is as per the values of Lokmanya Tilak.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari recalled his experience of constructing the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and how concern over its plan was raised by former resident editor of The Indian Express, Prakash Kardaley.
“The Mumbai-Pune Expressway was to be constructed and a private company had quoted Rs 3,600 crore. I rejected the tender as it was too expensive and decided to get the expressway done by the state government itself. It was during that time that journalist Prakash Kardaley of The Indian Express asked me how it was possible to get the work done in such a low amount by rejecting the quotation of a private company. He had said, ‘why should we write whatever you say?’ But I told him I have a strong political will, so I will have a way to do it and I proved it by constructing the expressway at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore,” he said.