Gadkari announces over ₹12cr investment for Delhi ahead of polls

He also approved ₹1,200 crore from the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) for the National Capital on Thursday

New Delhi: Nitin Gadkari, union minister for road transport and highways, on Thursday announced road projects worth ₹12,500 crore to address pollution and traffic congestion in national capital. In addition, he approved ₹1,200 crore from the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) for Delhi.

Seven lawmakers from Delhi met Gadkari on Wednesday to seek Centre’s approval for projects (Representative photo (X/NHAI_Official))

Gadkari made the announcement a day after seven lawmakers from Delhi met him, seeking the Centre’s approval for projects that include the construction of a road connecting Urban Extension Road-II with the Delhi-Katra Expressway, allowing vehicles to travel from the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway to Indira Gandhi International Airport and vice versa.

Other projects include a road linking UER-II with the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway near Tronica City, a 5 km tunnel connecting Shiv Murti on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway to Nelson Mandela Road, and the linking of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway with Noida.

“All these projects will further enable vehicles from other states to avoid Delhi while travelling between states in all directions,” said Gadkari.

Gadkari also posted on X, “Providing connectivity from UER-II to the Delhi-Katra Expressway via KMPE will offer direct access for vehicles coming from Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab to Indira Gandhi International Airport and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. The direct connection from UER-II near Alipur to the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway near Tronica City will facilitate vehicles travelling to Dehradun from Haryana and Rajasthan.”

“Vehicles coming from Dehradun will have an alternative route to Indira Gandhi International Airport via UER-II and Dwarka Expressway. Travel time will be reduced from one and a half hours to 45 minutes,” he added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for seven key infrastructure projects across Delhi, covering housing, education, and commercial facilities.