Nitin Gadkari inaugurates, lays foundation stone for 45 highway projects for Madhya Pradesh

Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], Aug 25 (ANI): Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 45 highway projects for Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.
The event which was held through video conferencing was also attended by MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Union Ministers Thavarchand Gehlot and Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of State (MoSs) Prahlad Singh Patel, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Gen (Dr) V K Singh (Retd), among others.
These projects for inauguration and foundation laying carry a road length of 1,361 kilometers and involve a construction value of Rs 11,427 crore. These will enhance better connectivity, convenience, and economic growth in and around the state and will facilitate the movement of people and goods to and from neighbouring states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, etc, according to a release by the ministry.
"The NH length in the state is 13,248 kilometers today, which was barely 5,186 km in the year 2014. Rs 1,25,000 crore worth of development works is underway in Madhya Pradesh. As much as 60 to 70 per cent works have been completed on approximately Rs 30,000 crore worth road works in the state," Gadkari said at the event.
He also announced that by the year 2023, development works worth Rs 50,000 crore are targeted for completion.
Gadkari also informed that work has already started on the 1,260 km eight-lane access-controlled Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, of which 244 km 8-lane length will be constructed in Madhya Pradesh at a cost of Rs 8,214 crore. He also requested CM Chouhan to distribute the land acquisition money to farmers, which the NHAI has sent to the state government.
He also announced Rs 700 crore from Central Road Fund(CRF) for Madhya Pradesh to be utilised in the road sector. Inviting proposals from the state, he said Rs 350 crore worth of proposals may include the proposals from MPs of Madhya Pradesh for road works in their constituency.
The CM thanked Gadkari for the road projects and assured full cooperation, he further requested him to take up three road projects- Narmada Expressway, Chambal Expressway (also called Atal Progressway), and the Ram Vangaman Path and asserted that he will very soon submit detailed reports on these projects to the Centre. (ANI)