PM inaugurates 246-km section of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan’s Dausa
Shubhadeep Choudhury
New Delhi, February 12
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday dedicated to the nation the 246 km Delhi – Dausa – Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
The Expressway, when completed, will be 1,386-km long. The eight-lane stretch inaugurated today has been built at a cost of Rs 12,150 crore.
In a function at Dausa, the PM also laid the foundation stone for 247 km of National Highway projects to be developed at a cost of more than Rs 5940 crore.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said modern roads, railway stations, railway tracks, Metro and airports gave a great fillip to the development goals of the country.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the multiplier effect of investment in infrastructure. “For the last nine years, the Central Government is continuously making huge investments in infrastructure”, the Prime Minister said and added that there has been an allocation of Rs 10 lakh crores for infrastructure in FY 2023-24 budget.
Modi said with the construction of the Delhi – Dausa – Lalsot highway, travel time between Delhi and Jaipur will be reduced. He said along the Expressway, Grameen Haats are being established to help the local farmers and artisans. Besides Rajasthan, the expressway will also benefit many areas of Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra, he said.
“Tourism spots like Sariska, Keoladeo National Park, Ranthambore and Jaipur will draw huge benefits from the highway”, Modi said.
Stating that the Delhi Mumbai Expressway is powered by the PM Gati Shakti Masterplan, the Prime Minister said arrangements have been made to lay optical fiber, electricity lines and gas pipelines by the side of the road while. Remaining land will be used for producing solar energy as well as for setting up of warehouses, he said.
“These efforts will save the nation a lot of money in the future”, the PM remarked.
Speaking about the three other projects, the Prime Minister said that one of them will give Jaipur direct connectivity with the expressway. The second project will connect the expressway with Ambala- Kotputli corridor near Alwar. Lalsot Karoli road will also connect the region with the Expressway.
The Prime Minister said that Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor are set to become two strong pillars of progress for Rajasthan and the country at large.
The road and freight corridor will connect many regions of Rajasthan, Haryana and Western India with ports. Modi said and added that it will create new opportunities for logistics, storage, transport and other industries .
Road transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that vehicles could move at a speed of 120 km per hour on the newly constructed road. He said that by 2024, the highway network in India would match that of the USA.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Rajasthan counterpart Ashok Gehlot joined the event through video link. Khattar, speaking from a function at Nuh, thanked Modi for providing “landlocked Haryana” access to sea ports through the Expressway.
Gehlot urged Modi to give national status to the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP).
