Bengaluru: Land acquisitions, environment clearances, forest clearances and shortage of aggregates are holding up or delaying road projects, Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said here today.
He was speaking at a foundation stone laying ceremony for works relating to new road projects stretching over 500 km in Karnataka. The projects, he said are valued around Rs 10,000 crore.
The ministry, he said under the NDA government has speeded up the rate of construction of road projects. On a daily basis, 12 kms of new roads are constructed as against 2 kms a day during the UPA government, he said.
Gadkari lamented that the cost of materials for many of the projects were very high now because of the cost of procuring the materials. He cited the case of huge quantities of sand being imported into Kerala from Thailand because of the ban on sand mining in the state.
Citing another example of how costs have gone up with regards to road construction, he said, “The cost of construction is going up in Bihar because of the import of aggregates from Jharkhand as there is a ban on mining in Bihar.”
Meanwhile, he said, the Centre is looking to intensify the use of inland waterways for transport. He said, about 47% of goods are transported in China on its inland waterways.
He added that about 42% of goods are transported on the waterways in Korea and Japan as well. Towards developing the water transport in India, he said initially investments will be made on developing a stretch of the Ganga, and then in Kerala, Mahanadi and Brahmaputra too the waterways will be made suitable for water transport.
He said, by developing water transport, India will be able to solve its water problems. Gadkari lamented that many of the projects proposed by previous government remain hanging in balance, and this has meant a need for more funds to complete those projects.
