The much awaited 19 km-long Haryana section of the Dwarka Expressway that will cut travel time between Delhi and adjoining business hubs in Gurugram was thrown open for the public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
The total length of Dwarka Expressway is 29 km, out of which 18.9 km falls in Haryana, while the remaining 10.1 km is in Delhi. On March 9, 2019, the then Union Ministers, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation stone for Dwarka Expressway.
The PM simultaneously also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of `one lakh crore-worth National Highway projects across the country and said the implementation speed of infrastructure projects will be accelerated manifold in the next five years to make India the world’s third largest economy.
Detailing the pace of his Government’s approach to infrastructure projects, the Prime Minister said he has laid the foundation stone or inaugurated projects worth `10 lakh crore in less than three months of the current calendar year.
He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 114 National Highway (NH) projects. The PM said the Dwarka Expressway will change the travel experience between Delhi and Haryana forever and “will shift gears not just in the vehicles but also in the lives of the people of the region”. Modi opened the Haryana section of the Dwarka Expressway which has been built at a cost of `4,100 crore.
The total length of Dwarka Expressway is 29 km being developed at an investment of Rs 9,000 crore.
Dwarka Expressway is India’s first elevated 8-lane access control urban expressway which is part of the Rs 60,000 crore highway development plan in the NCR to decongest the national Capital.
The Haryana section of Dwarka Expressway includes two packages of 10.2-km Delhi-Haryana Border to Basai Rail-over-Bridge (ROB) and 8.7-km Basai ROB to Kherki Daula.
Highlighting that the country has moved from 11th position in 2014 to become the fifth largest economy now, Modi said the fast development of infrastructure will help India soon become the third largest economy in the world.
Modi stressed that he wants everything on a large scale, with great speed to achieve the target of making India a developed nation by 2047.
“All of you know and understand me well. I cannot think small, nor do I dream small, nor do I make small resolutions. Whatever I want, I want it big! Whatever I want, I want it at a fast pace! By 2047, I want to see my country as a ‘Viksit Bharat’,” he said.
“The 21st Century India is India of big vision and big goals”, the Prime Minister said, adding that the country cannot compromise on speed of development.
The Prime Minister noted that expressway projects would open opportunities for rural India and create numerous employment opportunities. Modi also asserted that his Government does not work with elections in mind and added that development work continues whether elections are being held or not.
“Earlier, infrastructure was announced to win the elections. Now, in elections, the focus is on the completion of infrastructure projects. This is the New India,” he said.
Modi also emphasised the link between infrastructure development and poverty alleviation, highlighting how improved roads and digital connectivity in rural areas create new opportunities for villagers. He noted the emergence of new possibilities in rural India, driven by digital infrastructure and access to essential services like healthcare and education.
Talking about 114 projects, the Prime Minister said these development projects are from across the four regions of the country. Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in South; Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in North; Bengal and Bihar in East; Maharashtra, and Rajasthan in West India.
These projects include an increase of 540 km in Amritsar Bhatinda Jamnagar Corridor and development of Bengaluru Ring Road. The ring road in Bengaluru will ease traffic in the IT hub, he said.
“Earlier there were delays, now there are deliveries. Earlier there was delay, now there is development,” Modi said.
He said the focus is on to create a 9,000 km high speed corridor out of which 4,000 km is already constructed. Metro reached 21 cities as compared to 5 cities in 2014. “This work is done with the vision of development. These things happen when the intentions are right. This pace of development will increase manifold in the next 5 years,” the Prime Minister said.
On the occasion Modi also took a dig at the Congress, saying the Opposition party and its ‘ghamandiya’ alliance has lost its sleep, seeing the speed of implementation of projects.
