UP roads to be at par with US with ₹5 L crore investment before 2024: Gadkari

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced road projects worth ₹7,000 crore for Uttar Pradesh and said that a total investment of ₹5 lakh crore will be invested on roads in Uttar Pradesh before 2024. The minister added that with this, the state's road infrastructure will be at par with that of the US. The minister recently inaugurated the Indian Road Congress (IRC) in the state.

The state has been gifted an amount of ₹7,000 crore for projects including the Shahabad bypass-Hardoi bypass of ₹1,212 crore, Shahjahanpur to Shahabad bypass of ₹950 crore, Moradabad to Kashipur National Highway of ₹2,007 crore, and 13 railway over bridges of ₹1,000 crore, among others.

The investment on road infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh is in line with the target of $5 trillion economy for the country, for which, as directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the road network is most important. While addressing the issue, the minister had added that the need of the hour is to use “waste" for road construction without harming the environment in the country.

Gadkari also appealed citizens to use CNG, ethenol, methanol and electric vehicles instead of diesel and petrol vehicles, which he said will also make fares cheaper. He added that the country is currently making one lakh litres of bioethanol from stubble and is also working on manufacturing bio-CNG from it.

He termed green hydrogen as the need of the future, adding that if work on this technology is done in 117 aspirational districts of the country, then it will help them become financially strong and generate employment.

Last month, the minister batted for greater connectivity between waterways, roadways and airways in India. He also stressed on the need for more cultivation of sugarcane and bamboo for the production of cost-effective fuels like ethanol and bio-ethanol.