Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said, road infrastructure connects people, culture and society and brings prosperity through socio-economic development. He was virtually addressing the inaugural function of the 222nd Mid-Term Council Meeting of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) on Friday.
Addressing 222nd Mid-Term Council Meeting of IRC https://t.co/PfJLFBxFbt
— Nitin Gadkari (मोदी का परिवार) (@nitin_gadkari) June 17, 2022
The minister said, “new initiatives are expected from IRC, Innovation should be the focus area for all Engineers. IRC should develop a World-class state-of-art laboratory with the help of IITs and global institutions in the world.”
The Minister said in the last eight years, the length of National Highways has gone up by more than 50 percent from 91,000 km in 2014 to about 1.47 Lakh km now. He further added, our government is dedicatedly working towards expanding the National Highway network to 2 lakh kilometers by 2025. In the last eight years, our team has created multiple world records.
Gadkari said, Government is very committed to the development of the North East region. He said NHIDCL is playing a vital role in developing infrastructure in this region. The National Highway share of the region stands at 10%. He said till date, 2344 km highway has been constructed at the cost of Rs. 45,000 crore.
The Minister said we are ready to adopt World’s best and most successful technology and new materials for construction. He said use of Proven Technology and Reduction in construction cost are the two most important driving forces for us. We need to reduce the cost of construction while maintaining quality.
Gadkari said there should be minimum carbon footprints and exploitation of limited natural resources during the construction and operation phase. He said development at the cost of degradation of ecology and environment is not acceptable to us. He said a sustainable alternative for steel and cement should be found.
The Minister said, Road safety is a high-priority area for the Government. We need to incorporate effective global practices and guidelines related to road engineering into the specification.