New Delhi: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has a promise for the National Capital Region (NCR): by the end of this year, travel time from Haryana’s Panipat to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport will shrink from 3 hours to under 30 minutes.
In a wide-ranging conversation with ThePrint, Gadkari detailed the Modi government’s most ambitious urban decongestion plan yet, citing infrastructure projects worth over Rs 1 lakh crore already completed or under way in and around the Capital.
“UER-2 (Urban Extension Road) is ready. The tunnels connecting the expressway to the airstrip are complete. We are just waiting for the prime minister’s inauguration,” he said. “From Panipat to the airport, it will now take less than half an hour.”
The effort is part of a broader plan to transform Delhi’s overloaded traffic ecosystem.
“We have already completed the peripheral expressways. The Delhi-Dehradun access-controlled corridor will be ready by December. So will Delhi-Jaipur. And we’re planning Rs 25,000–Rs 30,000 crore of additional projects in consultation with the Delhi government,” he said.
Delhi is “the heart of the country”, Gadkari emphasised. “It is our responsibility to free it from traffic jams and pollution.”
For the minister who has earned the moniker “India’s highwayman”, infrastructure is not just about mobility—it’s about economic transformation.
“India’s logistics cost was 16 percent (of GDP), while it’s 8 percent in China and 12 percent in Europe and the US. Reports from IIM Bangalore, IIT Kanpur and IIT Chennai state that we have already brought it down by 4-6 percent. That brings us to 10 percent,” he said. “We’ll bring it to single digits within a year, and that will boost exports, industry, services and agriculture.”
Gadkari’s ministry is building 36 greenfield expressways and investing Rs 1.5 lakh crore in port connectivity. In addition, under the PM Gati Shakti plan, the ministry is linking roads to industrial clusters, religious tourism sites and border infrastructure.
“In Uttarakhand, we have tripled tourist footfall with Rs 12,000 crore worth of work on the Char Dham project. We’ll now build a road from Pithoragarh to Mansarovar. The Buddha Circuit is nearly complete at Rs 22,000 crore. We’re also making Ayodhya ring roads, the Ram Van Gaman Path, infrastructure in Mathura and Rs 12,000 crore worth of work linking Pandharpur and Dehu (religious towns) is being done in Maharashtra,” he told ThePrint.
When asked what lies ahead for his ministry, Gadkari was clear: “Three goals. One—reduce pollution through green fuels. Two—make roads safer. And three—build mass rapid transport on electricity. That’s my challenge. And my mission.”
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‘Above-ground mobility systems for congested Bengaluru’
In Bengaluru, where traffic and pollution remain critical issues, Gadkari said the highways ministry is exploring advanced mobility alternatives.
“There’s no land left to widen roads. So, we’re studying underground tunnels and above-ground electric mobility systems like ropeways, cable cars and skybuses,” he said.
The Bengaluru ring road project—costing Rs 17,000 crore—is nearing completion. “It will give tremendous relief,” he said, adding that the Mysuru-Bengaluru and Bengaluru-Chennai expressways will also be completed by December.
Gadkari also confirmed he had held a meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar to discuss new connectivity solutions for old national highways within Bengaluru city limits.
“They have given us proposals for reducing congestion in the city core. We are officially studying them and will try to implement viable ones,” he said. “Bengaluru is India’s knowledge hub. The traffic here must match the city’s potential.”
On monetising highways, Gadkari pitched the InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trust) model as both efficient and equitable. “We’re giving 8.05 percent annual returns with monthly payouts. People have earned 22-24 percent over time. This (InvIT National Highways Infra Trust) is triple-A rated and ideal for poor and middle-class investors,” he said.
“We want India’s roads to be built with India’s money—and profits returned to our people.”
Green fuel & road safety
Gadkari continues to be the government’s strongest voice for alternative fuels.
“I drive a flex-fuel car that runs on 100 percent ethanol, and generates 60 percent electricity too. At Rs 65 a litre, it brings down my cost to Rs 25 per litre,” he said. “I also have a hydrogen-powered car—its name, ‘Mirai’, means ‘future’ in Japanese. Then there are electric cars, scooters, rickshaws, buses—even a double-decker e-bus in Mumbai.”
To address public concerns about EV charging infrastructure, Gadkari said 670 charging stations are being installed across highways. “In cities, people are managing easily. At my home, I have charging (point) in the parking spot. You get 400 km per charge,” he said.
Gadkari also spoke about India’s road safety crisis and how it moved him. “Around 1.8 lakh people die every year in road accidents. That touches my heart,” he said. “We have identified black spots and allocated Rs 40,000 crore to fix them.”
He, however, insisted that road design was only part of the problem. “We can enforce and engineer all we want, but without a behavioural shift—lane-driving, respecting red lights, wearing helmets—things won’t change,” he said, adding that 30,000 deaths happen due to lack of helmets alone.
The minister is banking on public awareness campaigns with celebrities like Shankar Mahadevan to instil a culture of safer driving. “We need cooperation from people, media, schools, everyone.”
The government had earlier promised GPS-based tolling by March 2024. Gadkari admitted delays but remained optimistic. “We have completed four pilot projects. Within a year, you’ll see the system across the country,” he said.
He also hinted at a major overhaul in toll policy. “Within 15 days, we will be making a big decision on tolling. I can’t announce it yet—it needs to be notified officially—but it will be a game-changer,” he explained.
Addressing ongoing complaints about FASTag failures and overcharging, he said the next-gen system will use integrated scanners and number-plate recognition to log entry and exit points. “Only the exact road stretch used will be billed, and the toll will be deducted seamlessly from the user’s bank account,” he added.
Operation Sindoor & opposition criticism
When asked about India’s Operation Sindoor and opposition demands for a special Parliament session, Gadkari said, “Pakistan is the capital of terrorism. Operation Sindoor was a great success. This is a matter of national interest and shouldn’t be politicised.”
He defended India’s defence preparedness, pointing to rapid technological modernisation. “We’re developing drones, missiles, even Rafale jets are being manufactured here. India has exported Rs 25,000 crore in defence material for the first time,” he added.
On senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s rigging claims post-Maharashtra elections, Gadkari was blunt: “Sometimes public mandate favours you, sometimes it doesn’t. You have to accept it. That’s the moral responsibility of democracy.”
On the much-speculated reconciliation between warring Thackeray cousins Raj and Uddhav, he stayed noncommittal. “I have good relations with Raj and with Balasaheb’s family. As a well-wisher, I think it would be best if they united. Political outcomes are a different matter,” he said.
Asked about the difference between late former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and incumbent Narendra Modi’s governance styles, Gadkari said that “systems change with innovation and technology” but the mission—building a strong, self-reliant India—remains the same. “We’re all working to make India the world’s third-largest economy.”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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