Our focus is timely completion of all projects: Gadkari

After the completion of three years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said his Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is one that has many success stories to count.

"The country is building roads after decades of neglect. It's the result of good governance that the government has awarded 16,800 km of highway contracts in a year. During UPA regime, only 2km of roads were constructed in a year, but in the Modi regime, we are able to construct above 20 km roads in a day," said Gadkari at an interactive session jointly organised by Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) and Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation (SPMRF).

India is also constructing 17 highway stretches in areas near its international borders that will double up as airstrips, Gadkari added.

The theme of the session was 'transforming India through connecting India', which was moderated by the NMML Director Shakti Sinha and senior columnist & author Ashok Malik. The SPMRF Director Anirban Ganguly welcomed the guests on behalf of the foundation.

"Apart from awarding contracts, our focus is the timely completion of all projects and we are doing well on this front. It's our commitment that we are able to complete Eastern Peripheral Highway much in advance. The highway that will decongest Delhi and NCR would be inaugurated on August 15 this year," the transport minister said.

In reply to a question asked by Sinha as what ministry is doing to address traffic rule violators, Gadkari said, "We have linked traffic management with e-governance. There would be display panels on every traffic signal and in violation of rules, the photo of the vehicle violating the traffic rules would be displayed and challan would be sent automatically by the computer. As there will be human interventions in the whole process, the violators would have to pay heavy penalties every day they jump signal."