NITIN GADKARI HIGH ON HIGHWAYS

Within the story of India's rapid infrastructure development, it is hard to miss the swanky expressways and highways that are giving the much-needed thrust to the country's ambitions. The man behind the massive infra push is Nitin Gadkari, minister of road transport and highways. In conversation with Neeraj Thakur and Rajat Mishra, Gadkari talks about his strategies for growth and dealing with issues like land acquisition and infrastructure financing. He also responds to the Comptroller and Auditor General's charge on Dwarka Expressway. Edited excerpts:

- Neeraj Thakur and Rajat Mishra

Since 2014, India has seen massive infrastructure development. How did you manage to develop infra projects in India at a fast pace?

When I was a minister in Maharashtra, I got the opportunity to build the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, 85 flyovers, Bandra-Worli Sea Link, etc. At that time, my former secretary had mentioned a statement by John F. Kennedy about inspiration and motivation. He said that American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because the prosperity is coming from the roads. Wherever there is infrastructure, water, power, transport and communication, we will get industry, trade and business. At the same time, it will create more employment potential.

The dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to make our country a $5 trillion, atmanirbhar, super economic power. Our mission and dream are to make India the third largest economy, and roads are very important to achieve this target. Without roads, water and power, we cannot have industry and capital, and, without that, there is no employment potential. No employment potential means that you cannot encourage growth. Building infrastructure is very important, which is why, since 2014, the prime minister has given the highest priority to infrastructure development.

My budget for roads and highways project is Rs 2.8 lakh crore. We have public-private investment. We do not have any resource constraint. We are everywhere from Karnataka to Haryana and Kashmir to Kerala, etc. We are constantly pursuing road construction and have got all the ability and potential to make good quality infrastructure. I am giving you confidence that by the end of FY24, our national highway road network will be equivalent to the road network of the USA.