India could soon have townships, smart cities, industrial clusters and logistic parks alongside the national highways if the proposal of Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari is approved by the Modi cabinet.
This has been revealed by Gadkari in a virtual meeting to prepare a plan of action to generate infrastructure-related capital through monetising the existing highway projects.
“And now we have prepared a cabinet note for approval ….for making roadside townships, smart cities, logistic parks, and industrial clusters. We are making 400 roadside amenities,” Gadkari’s statement was quoted by The Economic Times.
There is also a proposal to shell out a massive Rs 2.5 lakh crore in constructing tunnels. The ministry also aims to use innovation to cut down the usage of steel and cement in building roads.
Gadkari stressed using components such as ethanol, LPG, and CNG in the road equipment machinery and encouraged furthering import substitution and pollution-free, cost-effective, and other indigenous methods to develop alternative fuel.
The minister was also hopeful that investment in infrastructure would create new employment opportunities in the distressing times of Covid-19 pandemic.
