Lashing out non-performing officials, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday warned them not to become obstacles in the way of India achieving world-class infrastructure. Gadkari said “either perform or take VRS, but don’t sit on files”.
Targeting 100km road construction a day, Gadkari said bureaucratic dragnet and red-tapism would no longer be tolerated and officials found indulging in such activities would be thrown out.
“The world is ready to invest in India, especially in the highways sector, but we are not able to utilise our budgetary allocation. For work worth Rs 5 lakh crore to get rolling, we need faster clearances, quick project report preparations, but there are officials sitting on files and not taking decisions.”
The minister added: “Those who do not want to work, please take VRS. We need people with a positive attitude... mindset needs to be changed. Performance audit will be conducted.”
The Union Minister further said: “We will not hesitate to penalise those who do not work. Leave negative attitude. Red-tapism would not be tolerated.”
Recalling the pledges of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to boost the country’s economic growth, Gadkari emphasised on expediting the pace of road construction.
“We have to build 100km of roads in a day and unless we fast-track projects, this is not possible. The road construction pace has reached 18 km a day now from 2 km when I took over the reins of the ministry,” he added.