Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that land acquisition for road development should be done in such a way that it also facilitates development of industries along the corridor. He stressed the need for State Governments to clear the hurdles in land acquisition and facilitate early forest and environmental clearances for road development projects.
Addressing public gatherings in Hubballi and Belagavi after laying foundation stone for various road development works and dedicating the completed National Highway projects to the nation, Mr. Gadkari listed out various new initiatives of the Union Government and stressed the need for the State Government to give up royalties and extend GST exemption to steel and cement for highway projects.
“If the State Government enters into an MOU for extending such exemption to highway projects, the Union Government can relax the cost sharing ration, which will be beneficial to the State,” he said.
35 ROB/RUBs
In Hubballi, responding to the list of 35 ROBs and RUBs submitted by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Mr. Gadkari said he would sanction all of them and include the same in the annual plan of the Ministry. Stating that he did not believe in mixing development with politics, Mr. Gadkari said that there was no dearth of funds for development projects and in case the State Government was unable to mobilise funds for a project, he would also suggest alternate ways to do so. He said there was nothing wrong in relaxing norms to facilitate development.
₹19,930 cr. projects
The Union Minister, who visited Mangaluru after Belagavi and Hubballi, took part in the foundation stone laying ceremonies and inauguration of completed projects in all the three cities. He laid foundation and inaugurated projects worth ₹19,930 crore in a single day. He was accompanied by Mr. Bommai, Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and A. Narayanaswamy, State Ministers, and legislators.
