Govt working to make national highways potholes free by year-end: Nitin Gadkari
According to road transport and highways secretary Anurag Jain, the ministry has done the mapping of the entire national highways length of 1,46,000 kilometres and is firming up performance-based maintenance and short-term maintenance contracts to remove potholes by December this year
The government is working on a policy to ensure there are no potholes on the national highways, said Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday.
The road transport ministry, said Gadkari, has mapped the entire national highways length of 1.46 lakh kilometres and is firming up performance-based maintenance and short-term maintenance contracts to remove potholes.
Gadkari said that a policy is being formulated to make highways across the country “potholes-free” by the year-end. Gadkari said that the ministry is also conducting a safety audit of national highways.
“A policy is being made to ensure the national highways are free of potholes and young engineers will be roped in to make the project a success,” he said.
Similarly, Gadkari said that the government is also in the process of finalising a policy for the use of municipal waste in constructing roads.
He said that his ministry is preparing a draft policy that will promote the use of alternative fuel in construction equipment. This, he said, is being done to reduce cost and dependence on fossil fuels, adding creating wealth from waste is possible through technology and visionary leadership.
“We are finalising the policy for using municipal waste in road construction. The ministry is in talks with the finance ministry for approval,” he said.
Gadkari said that the government is considering offering incentives to construction equipment manufacturers for not using fossil fuels. He also said that the government is working on developing electric highways between Delhi and Jaipur.
Gadkari further expressed concerns about the disposal of Solid Waste. “The disposal of solid waste generated on a daily basis is the major environmental challenge being faced in urban areas across the country,” he said.
Waste is a huge problem for the country and if a policy like this will be implemented is a win-win situation for the country, said Gadkari. The policy will also help India to achieve the prime minister’s vision of net zero by 2070, he added.
The minister said that by 2025, there will be a mandate to use one percent sustainable aviation fuel with prospective plans to escalate it to 5% blending in India.
Talking about the alternate biofuels in the country, Gadkari said that the ministry has been pushing for a large-scale up-take of ethanol to boost the agricultural growth by 6%.
“The objective is to make an ethanol economy of Rs.2 lakh crore,” said Gadkari. He said with the launch of the world’s first BS6 (Bharat Stage Emission Standards 6) compliant flex fuel strong hybrid vehicle in Delhi flex engines will be operating on 100% ethanol and the savings would surpass Rs.1 lakh crore.
According to road transport and highways secretary Anurag Jain, the ministry has done the mapping of the entire national highways length of 1,46,000 kilometres and is firming up performance-based maintenance and short-term maintenance contracts to remove potholes by December this year.
