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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  101 rivers to be used for waterways, says Nitin Gadkari
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101 rivers to be used for waterways, says Nitin Gadkari

Gadkari said water traffic on the 1620-km Allahabad-Haldia stretch would begin by the next year

A file photo of Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari. Photo: MintPremium
A file photo of Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari. Photo: Mint

Lucknow: Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari has said that the people of Uttar Pradesh will use waterways as an alternative mode of cheaper and efficient transport in several rivers, including the Ganga and the Yamuna, within the next five years.

He was speaking at the Hindustan Shikhar Samagam in Lucknow on Saturday.

He also said water traffic on the 1620-km Allahabad-Haldia stretch would begin by the next year.

The NDA government had a very ambitious but realistic plan of converting 101 rivers with a total length of 82,000 km across the country into the waterways. A bill to this effect, he said, had already been moved in Parliament in the monsoon session.

“Unlike many other countries where water transport fulfils more than 40% of the total transport requirement, its contribution in India is as low as 3.4%," he said.

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He claimed there was immense scope for the development of water transport in the country. He also said ports would be set up along the rivers all over the country. “We will introduce sea planes in rivers, as well as buses that can run on roads and as well as on water," the minister announced.

Electric buses, cars and scooters would be seen on the roads within a year, he added.

The government, he added, was making all the arrangements for the same in a bid to provide clean and affordable transport.

Replying to a question, Gadkari said toll tax was like a necessary evil which one had to face for better convenience. Hence, he made it clear there was no question of doing away with the toll tax.

“But we have a plan to convert all the toll taxes into an integrated e-toll system within the next six months. The move will bring about a lot of transparency and do away with inconvenience that the people have to face in paying the toll tax manually," he said.

Claiming that his ministry was committed to contributing at least 2% to the country’s GDP by way of increased road construction activities, the minister said on an average 25 km of new roads were being built every day in the country.

“We are building several highways like the 14-lane access-controlled Delhi-Maharashtra highway, the Nagpur-Mumbai highway, the Delhi-Vadodara highway and the like," he said.

“Work on the Delhi-Meerut highway would begin in the next three months," he added.

Asked about the roadblocks he faced in implementing his ambitious schemes, Gadkari said the bureaucratic mindset of functioning within a routine system was often a hindrance. “But we, as ministers, are committed to changing that mindset and reform the system," he stressed.

“I have told the bureaucrats in my departments — write whatever you want to on the files, but as minister I will see to it what has to be done finally."

He said that he had written outside his office that he liked people who took wrong decisions, but he disliked those who could not take decisions. He clarified funds were available in abundance.

To a question on caste politics being at the forefront in the Bihar elections, he said the young generation was fed up with the politics of caste and communalism. “They are interested only in the politics of development and the young voters in Bihar will vote on that consideration only," he said.

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Published: 26 Sep 2015, 04:21 PM IST
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