Union minister for road, transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said that the network of roads in India grew by 59 per cent in the last nine years.
The minister further said that the road network in India has become the second largest in the world due to the rapid expansion projects carried out.
Special emphasis was laid on the expansion of the road highway network in the Northeast region, and projects worth more than ₹2 lakh crore are being carried out in the region at the moment.
Gadkari was addressing a conference on ‘9 years of achievements of the government’ in Delhi and said that India’s road network has reached 1,45,240 km at present from 91,287 km in 2013-14,
The revenues from tolls rose to ₹41, 342 crore in FY23 from ₹4,770 crore in 2013-14, he said. The government aims to increase the revenue to ₹1,30,000 crore by 2020.
The minister also noted how the usage of fastags at toll plazas helped to reduce the waiting time to 47 seconds.
In the last nine years, the 4-lane NH increased about two-fold, Gadkari said. 670 roadside facilities are being developed with a view to provide a pleasant experience along the NHs.
