TIMES OF INDIA, Delhi, 22.1.2018 Page No. 16, Size:(21.46)ems X (28.07)ems. ‘Lam hopeful of the daily highway construction reaching close to 40 km a day by next year’ Nutn Jatram Gaakart ts Cabinet ‘Minister tn charge of transport through roads, inland waterways, shipping and also in charge of reluienaling river Ganga. sletatksto Dipak Dashabout nis ans for tadta's nprastructure wm What ts your target for 2018-19 In thehighwayssector? "We have pushed both award and con sernetiono highways. jam hoperut of me ‘ally highway constructon eachingccse ‘to3dkmby theendof March. Bynext year ‘am hopeful of taking it cose to 0 oa ‘ty. which Thadsetastarget. Undoubeedy, 4¢3 an ambitious target. But high target was cto achieve maxtmum progress. i You had also set a high target for award. Don't you dink yovernmont should focus more on butlding high ‘quality roads rather than tendering projects? ‘We Nave a high target for award of ‘works, I agroo that mich of stress on award doesn’t help if we dont make ‘adoquate tnd avallablefor carrying out ‘works, Weareunabletogiveappolntment dato (oMcial start of work) fOr many ‘projects beeauso of nonavallabity of Jand, We need a Tot of support trom the stale governments toaoquireland. They musthelp nsasconstructonof highways helps them by improving connectivity and pushing sconamieactivities i& Every sie you visit. youannounce , Dig Investment Mm highway sector. Do youkeop track and whatare do fundingsources? Al announcements inado for hgh way development arepartof theplanaire- adyprepareby my minis: Woh en0- {ugh sores 0 ee nts fr under worse Naot Highvays Auorty of Inia (SHAD hs aout Rs aD ene a fm Tevn from tol caliction Bugetary locaton for highway. co Strom has Ineo shetty fn the pas re Jars. {am expecting Increase or Rs 200 crore curing 29, "ho pvernmnt has ge Us prmslon fora roo cre troup nds We ‘rile more ents ofan projec ti as action campitt projeos £3 Ano years to pre player vit Ta Opera and renaie CTO) mee Toe peretrs wl pay Uv upfront a Fee tho amount ty ete cn. Te} wl fvotomalrinthersidend chargers Oeil th goveranene Wear ee UD ‘oRsitekneroby blading Sntover abandon tines Serica. invest then inva ( tisswimessad sharp ctive. Wint ore your ministry andNHATdomngtorevivert? ‘We came out vith a Hybrid Anmulty Model (HAM whieh derisks private ‘nvestment tn the sector We aro gesting goed response. The TOT projecs I alkes about will get investment from private sector and big gota firms are keen in these projets. We are confident of Diadingoutthonrst tranche complorad Drojects next month. 1¢ will bo = testcase. As wo bid out mare such ‘rojecs, more private tnvestment ‘willflowe We wil use that Rand for underiacingmore works, a How nach invesement or expend fare do you foresee In the IlgWway ‘Sector In thenext few years? ‘Weewilleasilysoe more thst Rs lakh crore. investment. Mumbal- Vadodara cxpressway project wil cost Rs 41,000 croro.Thereareseveralbigprojects, What is your priority maw shipping ministry? ‘Our focus 1s. On promoting water ‘transport: how to shit mare cargo and. Dassongor movement 19 ‘waterways from roads and ral. We are working hard to ‘complete the work make Natlonal Water way Galdia 10 'Naranast strech ot Ganga) navigable round the yea: Thi broket "costs aapproximatoly SG onperore, Wo are aso working on a project ‘0 maintain minimum to metre drat 1 fie Ganga between Allahabad and ‘Varanasi so that bargas can ply Decwoen ‘eso two cites during the Kumbh Mela Shifting 2 large number of people from using Toads 10 taking waterways will reduce congestion and vehicular pollutlonas well Sagarmalatheflagship p Programa under shipping ministry, as potential for about As lakh crore investment. A eHow meh sme system responsible for delays? “Tnnre are obstacles in every Auld. aivoanexample, webalita multhiowelear barking a Transpart Bhawan to address Daring snes, 1 took us one-and-a-half yours to get approvals and clearances from different agencies. One can imagine ‘now many obstacles common poople face ingttngtiingsdone. wm You neuieve the one neta wuere saceess ts tsigaificant is road salou What istheway ahead? ‘We are Josing more than 15 Jakh peoploevery year and another taki sre {eft injured in raed accidents. These are hot just numbers, bat people and their families. Wo nes 0 have a robust law ‘and proper enforcement. We havo intro ‘Quced the Motor Vehleles Amendment BUN in tho Parilamont with adequate provisions, Passayo of tho law will st the ground, Butt what remains crucial {is objective enforeamene af the laws. Dy states and police. The fear of sgrting caueht ovary time for violating, traffic and transport ries wil being toehange.