WEB DESK
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari on Friday suggested to the Maharashtra Government to plan townships around new roads built in Pune and Aurangabad. Addressing the ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi – New India, New Resolve Conference’ in Mumbai, Mr. Gadkari said the planned Pune- Aurangabad road will reduce the travel time between these two cities to just two hours.
Talking about Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which will bring the travel time between the national capital and the commercial capital to 12 hours, Mr. Gadkari said seventy percent of the work has been completed. He added that projects like Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg and future projects to connect Mumbai with Delhi, Pune and Bangalore will propel the state’s economic growth.
The minister added that India’s dream of becoming a five trillion dollar economy will require major contributions from Maharashtra, including its agriculture, industry and services sector.
Talking about Maharashtra’s thriving sugar industry, Mr. Gadkari said the state should consider promoting cost-effective ethanol as a fuel.
While promising the government’s full support to entrepreneurs and industries, Maharashtra Chief Minister Mr. Eknath Shinde said the state is focussed on creating 15 industrial corridors. He also assured to work with the Centre to create a pro-industry ecosystem.
Referring to Maharashtra as the engine of the Indian economy, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state will strive to combine infrastructure, innovation and technology to become a trillion-dollar state by 2030. He added that projects like Navi Mumbai International Airport, Metro services, highways, sealinks and expressways, the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train corridor will be fast-tracked to achieve this goal.