Nitin Gadkari retains Road Transport and Highways Ministry for third time; Ajay Tamta and Harsh Malhotra to be MoS

A day after taking oath, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is set to retain Road Transport and Highways Ministry for the third time.

Additionally, to help out Gadkari, Ajay Tamta and Harsh Malhotra will be part of Road Transport and Highways Ministry by being Minister of State(MoS).

The 67-year-old leader from Nagpur in Maharashtra has been the longest serving Minister for Road Transport and Highways as he held the portfolio in the last two governments led by Narendra Modi. Under Gadkari, the country saw construction of more than 90,000 km of national highways and 30,000 km of new roads in the last 10 years.


Since 2014, when Gadkari made his debut in the Lok Sabha polls from Nagpur and became a minister at the Centre, he has handled several portfolios like the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

Gadkari's journey:
Gadkari's foray into national politics happened in 2009 when he was appointed the BJP president. He served as a member of the Maharashtra legislative council from the Nagpur Graduates' constituency from 1989 to 2014.

He became a state minister for the first time in 1995 and held charge of the Public Works Department (PWD).

During the period, he worked for getting all-weather roads constructed in the state and containing the problem of malnutrition in the Melghat area of Vidarbha region.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway and 54 flyovers in the Maharashtra capital were constructed during his tenure as a state minister.

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link was also conceived during Gadkari's tenure as the PWD minister.

The greenfield expressway projects under the Bharatmala Pariyojana phase 1 in the country are under various phases of completion.

(with agency inputs)