Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Tuesday said that the Centre plans to construct 25,000 km of two- to four-lane highways at a rate of 100 km a day.

Addressing AIMA’s National Leadership Conclave, he said that there is no dearth of money to build roads, and soon India will make better highways than the US.

The Minister said that a transformation of the road sector would, in turn, transform the lot of India’s farmers by reallocating the money spent on petroleum imports to agri-derived fuel and construction materials.

Ethanol making

He pointed out that making ethanol from corn has lifted corn prices well above the minimum support price.

Besides, Gadkari said that in the making of ethanol from rice straw, the by-product lignin is being used in road construction.

Replying to a question about urban traffic congestion as well as slow travel speeds, he said that the cities’ problems are linked with rural problems.

Gadkari said that India needs to think not only of making smart cities but also smart villages so that villagers do not have to migrate to cities.

Migration from villages

“If agriculture’s share of the GDP reaches 22 per cent, there would be no migration,” he said.

Admitting that building flyovers in cities has not solved traffic problems, he said that India has to address its population and automobile growth problems.

He added that people migrate to cities because they lack jobs, schools and hospitals.

He emphasised that India needs new satellite cities with rapid transport.

In addition, Gadkari pointed to the practice of rich people building big houses without parking and using the roads as free parking.

On the green mobility front, he said that India was looking to acquire the technology of flash-charging electric buses for urban transportation. He said that these 135-seat buses go 40 km on less than a minute’s charge.

Published on April 15, 2025