Delhi to Haridwar in 1 hour next month? Nitin Gadkari says new road projects will boost tourism, jobs

Travelling from Delhi to Haridwar could take just one hour once the next road project opens next month, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said Tuesday at a CII conference.

He said the government's road infrastructure push was reducing travel time to religious destinations, increasing tourist traffic and creating employment opportunities.

Speaking at the CII National Conference on ‘Highways of India’s Future: Smart, Safe and Sustainable’, Gadkari said the recently opened Delhi-Dehradun corridor had reduced travel time between the two cities from seven hours to two hours.


“And now we have just opened Delhi Dehradun or Delhi to Dehradun. It was seven hours. Now you can go with two hours,” Gadkari said.

He added that the next project would improve connectivity to Haridwar. “So that way, now in the next month we are going to open Delhi to Haridwar. It will only take one hour,” he said.

Gadkari said better road connectivity was helping increase the number of visitors to religious destinations and creating employment in the tourism sector.

Char Dham traffic has increased threefold, says Gadkari

Citing the Char Dham road project, Gadkari said 80-85% of the work had been completed and traffic to religious destinations in Uttarakhand had increased threefold.

“I am just giving you the example of Char Dham or South India Trail Grail. 80-85% of the project we have completed, and now the traffic from Delhi to Badrinath, Kedarnath, it is increased by three times more,” he said.

The minister also referred to road development in Ayodhya and Maharashtra, including the Pandharpur Palkhi Marg projects, which improve connectivity for pilgrims travelling to religious destinations.

“Everywhere, either it is northeast, Jammu and Kashmir, anywhere in any part of India, everywhere we are developing tunnels, roads, and bridges,” Gadkari said.

He said infrastructure spending could support tourism-related employment and bring more visitors to religious sites. Referring to capital expenditure in tourism, he said, “It is important for tourism because 49% of the capital expenditure in tourism it is going to be helpful for creating employment potential.”

Gadkari also said the government had projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore related to religious tourism and tunnel projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore. He said the country had significant potential for tourism and that better road connectivity could help more destinations attract visitors.

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway to connect rural and tribal districts

Gadkari said greenfield expressways could improve connectivity for districts that have not benefited as much from economic development. He cited the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway as an example, saying it would connect rural, aspirational and tribal districts with economic centres.

In Haryana, he said, the expressway would benefit aspirational districts. In Rajasthan, he named Alwar, Dausa, Sawai Madhopur and Bundi among the districts expected to benefit from improved connectivity.

He also referred to tribal districts in Madhya Pradesh, including Ratlam and Jhabua, and Dahod in Gujarat.

The minister said improved road links between these areas and major economic centres could support economic activity and development.

“Mumbai is the economic capital of the country, and connectivity between Delhi to Mumbai is very important,” Gadkari said.

Gadkari says Rs 100 infrastructure spending can generate Rs 325 economic impact

Gadkari said road construction creates jobs during the building phase and generates demand for materials such as cement and steel, as well as construction machinery.

“The construction phase that is creating new jobs. There are also requirement of cement and Steel machinery that demand every time is going to increase because we are constructing roads,” he said.

He added that better connectivity could reduce transport costs and benefit businesses, tourism and the development of towns.

“The connectivity phase is second important thing that is trade, travel, and transport. Result is very important. Cost is going to reduce, and it is the development is going to useful for industry, tourism, and towns development. The multi-layer effect of all this development,” Gadkari said.

Explaining the economic impact of infrastructure investment, the minister said every Rs 100 spent on infrastructure could generate an economic impact of Rs 325.

“I always feel that the infrastructure development is the backbone of Indian economy. Even in the world, it is everywhere backbone of their economy. If we are going to spend 100 rupees for infrastructure, the impact on economy it comes to 325 rupees. Their GDP is going to increase,” he said.

Gadkari added that the government was giving priority to road construction, including expressways and green express highways, to improve connectivity across the country.