Delhi-Mumbai Expressway to be completed in three years
What's the story
The new Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will take three years and about Rs. 1 lakh crore to complete, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Monday. It will cut down the road distance between the two metro cities from the current 1,450km to about 1,250km, reducing the travel time by almost 7 hours, reported Times of India. Here are the details.
Details
All you need to know
-The Expressway will pass through two of India's most underdeveloped districts - Haryana's Mewat and Gujarat's Dahod, providing them connectivity. -The construction work will begin by December and is expected to be completed in the next three years. -The route: Delhi-Gurgaon-Mewat-Kota-Ratlam-Godhra-Vadodra-Surat-Dahisar-Mumbai -It will be a greenfield project also connecting the proposed Chambal Expressway and several other cities, including Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Ujjain and Ahmedabad.
Reasons
Why is it being constructed as a greenfield project?
With this Expressway, Gadkari has stood by his promise of focusing on greenfield projects instead of expanding existing highways primarily for two reasons: -It will ensure less land-acquisition costs since the Expressway would pass through backward, underdeveloped areas. -It will bring in investment, connectivity, employment and development to these remote regions.
Plans
Expressway to help develop remote regions of Rajasthan, Haryana, MP
"This entire Expressway will bring development to the undeveloped regions and hinterland in Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh to spur growth and some backward areas will also shine like Gurugram," Gadkari said. "Industrial and commercial development will generate jobs. We are now looking at building highways on new alignment rather than just expanding the existing stretches to decentralise development," he added.
Other projects
Other initiatives to decongest Delhi-NCR's vehicular traffic
Gadkari also announced 10 other projects worth Rs. 35,600 crore to better manage traffic in Delhi-NCR. Some of these include: -Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways. The Eastern side will be inaugurated by PM Modi on April 29. -Delhi-Meerut Expressway. Its Delhi-Dasna stretch will also be launched the same day by the PM. -Signal-free corridor from Dhaula Kuan to Airport. -Eight-lane fully access-controlled Dwarka Expressway.