The Sunday Guardian Foundation organized the fourth session of Capital Dialogue with General V.K. Singh, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Road Transport and Highways. The session was hosted by Rishabh Gulati, Managing Editor of Newsx and Madhav Das Nalapat, Editorial Director of iTV network.
General V.K. Singh talking about the clear vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Infrastructure is the backbone of development and PM understands that it’s the infrastructure which will boost the economy.”
The minister also discussed that connecting borders with underdeveloped areas and economic corridors will pave the way for development. He shed light on how India developed a road network of 62 lakh kilometers with 1.52 lakh kms of national highways and 1.82 kms of state highways. “We have delivered all of this with quality work,” said V.K Singh.
The minister also highlighted the Amritsar-Bathinda-Bikaner-Jamnagar expressway project and how this project will connect manufacturing hubs and ports. He also talked about the road infrastructure revolution, “earlier it used to take around 3 hours from Ghaziabad to Delhi but now it only takes about half an hour,” the minister said. “In the future, Delhi to Amritsar will take four hours and Delhi to Katra will just take 6 hours to reach,” General V.K. Singh added.
When Prof Madhav Das Nalapat asked the Minister about positive change in Uttar Pradesh, he said “earlier Uttar Pradesh was considered a backward state because of its corruption and law and order issues but since 2017 this has changed. Law and order are the prime focus of the UP government. Now infrastructural development is bringing business. Huge investment came from the recent summit and now it is a stable state.”
On the question of Rahul Gandhi’s recent comments in the United Kingdom, V.K. Singh said “I do not want to give importance to Rahul Gandhi. He is like a puzzle with no answer. He speaks different things in India and different in the U.K. As an Indian, it is our duty to stand for the nation,” advised General V.K Singh.
Ashwariya Sharma, chairperson iTV Foundation asked about the disparity in the distribution of government schemes in Uttar Pradesh, which was based on lines and how positive change is coming, on this the minister answered “green secularism and last-mile delivery is the focus of the government. BJP touches all sections of society and when you touch everybody no one feels neglected.”
Member of Parliament Kartikeya Sharma also asked the minister about the Manesar toll (Kherki Daula), “numerous RWAs approached us with the request that this toll should be moved out at some point in time.”
“Now we have opened Dausa road and it takes two and a half hours to reach Jaipur now that road is under maintenance. We are going to ensure that this road comes better than what it is today. Once people start using the Dausa road, the pressure on the road will go down,” the minister answered.
“We are just a couple of months away from the Dwarka expressway opening, once that opens up it will take the traffic away from the main Delhi-Gurugram Road,” V.K. Singh added.
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