Nitin Gadkari bats for 100% land acquisition before approving national highway projects

New Delhi: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday opined that no new national highway project should be approved without a 100 per cent land acquisition, as it is a major hurdle in road construction.

Addressing the 17th CIDC Vishwakarma Awards & Exhibitions on Viksit Bharat 2047, Gadkari further said the highways ministry has highway assets worth Rs 15 lakh crore that can be monetised.

“Land acquisition, forest and environment clearance are major problems in highways projects. We had made it mandatory that without acquiring 90 per cent of the land no new national highway projects will be started. Now I think that without acquiring 100 per cent of the land, we should not give an appointed date for the new national highway projects,” he said. Appointed date is the formal start date for highway projects, signalling that land acquisition and clearances are sufficiently in place for construction to begin.

Gadkari reiterated that consultants responsible for preparing detailed project reports (DPRs) for highway construction are the real culprits behind the poor quality of highways.

He suggested that retired NHAI officials should use their skills and start firms to prepare DPRs. A DPR is a comprehensive blueprint for a road construction project, outlining all technical, financial and logistics details necessary for its execution. The minister said the construction industry has potential, it should work to decrease cost of construction without compromising on the quality.

Gadkari also emphasised the importance of innovation, technology and sustainable practices in the construction sector while underlining the need to promote alternative fuels and new technologies for the future of infrastructure development.

He also underlined the need to ensure quality-based evaluation in project implementation, stating that quality and performance must receive higher priority, along with cost considerations. Emphasising sustainable solutions, he urged stakeholders to explore the use of biofuels, biomass-based fuels and other alternative fuels, stating that such technologies can help reduce dependence on conventional fuels and lower operational costs. He also called for greater use of waste-to-wealth technologies, including recycling of plastic waste and used tyres in road construction.

Gadkari further highlighted the importance of adopting futuristic technologies and research-based solutions and encouraged stronger collaboration between industry, research institutions and academia for developing innovative construction technologies.