“PETROL, DIESEL AND EVs WILL BE PRICED EQUALLY SOON”

Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, on reducing the dependence on petroleum imports, the next phase of growth and more

- SIDDHARTH ZARABI

WHEN INDIA TURNS 100 as a republic in 2047, the story of its progress will also be that of its roads. And few have built more of them than Nitin Gadkari. For over a decade as Minister for Road Transport and Highways, he has been the architect of a national transformation measured in expressways, bridges, tunnels, and the sheer audacity of connecting a nation of 1.4 billion people. Launching Business Today’s special India@100 edition, a blueprint of 100 bold reforms for the next quarter-century, Gadkari spoke about what is next on the road map, and how fast India can get there. Edited excerpts:

What will India’s roads and highways look like in 2047?

When I became minister, I had a quote by American President John F. Kennedy written and placed in my office in front of my table—American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good. We started work with this in mind. I will not list old work because you know that already. But just in Delhi NCR, we are working on projects worth ₹1 lakh crore. In the next four months, we will award new projects worth ₹40,000 crore again.

This year, we have two targets. These are targets, not declarations. The first is that from building 38 km of road per day we aim to increase to build 100 km per day—this will happen next year. I'm not just saying that; we are working toward this target. To achieve this, the most important thing is our contract awards—we have awarded projects worth about ₹2.5 lakh crore so far this year, and by March end, we will have awarded contracts worth ₹10 lakh crore for road construction.

If we do projects worth ₹10 lakh crore, I believe that for every rupee spent on infrastructure, ₹3.80 is generated economically. This is what our economists say.