New Delhi: Indian goods will be as good as roads in the US by the end of 2024, Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Tuesday. “Our roads are linked to our prosperity… I would like to assure the House India’s road infrastructure will be as good as America’s before the end of 2024,” Gadkari said in the Lok Sabha while replying to a debate on demands for grants for the Road and Transport Ministry. He said projects worth Rs 60,000 crore were being undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir, including the Zojila tunnel. He also said that by the end of this year, people will be able to reach Mumbai from Srinagar in 20 hours. “Srinagar will be linked to Mumbai, by linking Katra to Amritsar and the Delhi-Mumbai highway. Before the year ends, you will reach Mumbai in 20 hours from Srinagar,” Gadkari said. He also talked about the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and said it takes only 40 minutes to travel between the two cities now. Expressing commitment to ecology and environment, the Minister said the government is preparing a list of 1,000 contractors across the country who can transplant trees so that these are not cut for making highways. “We have decided it is not right to cut trees… We will not cut any trees, we will transplant them.” He said 11 percent of all accidents in the world happen in India. The Minister said the government was focusing on the designing of roads to avoid accidents. UNI AO MR
