Nariman Point to Delhi in 12 Hours: Nitin Gadkari gives big update on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

Delhi-Mumbai Expressway Update: Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the first phase of the Delhi-Mumbai Express Highway from JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) to Delhi is to be completed this year.

“My plan is to connect Nariman Point to Delhi making it a 12-hour journey,” the Road Transport Minister said during an inauguration of Organic Garden at R.D. & S.H. National College and S.W.A. Science College in Mumbai.

The Delhi–Mumbai Expressway is a 1,350 km long, 8-lane wide under-construction access-controlled expressway connecting India's national capital New Delhi with its financial capital Mumbai.

The expressway will connect DND Flyway in Delhi to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra via Dausa, Kota, Ratlam, Vadodara, and Surat.

Gadkari while reiterating the significance of green fuels, said that the Road Transport Ministry is working on the diversification of agriculture towards the energy and power sector since 2000.

“We are making green fuels like ethanol from sugarcane, which is cost-effective, pollution free, and indigenous and hence helps in reducing import of fuels.” The minister said, adding that the “ethics, economy and environment are three important pillars of our society”.

Similarly, he stated, “For the last 8 years, we are recycling sewage water of Nagpur and selling it to the Maharashtra government for power generation. We are earning Rs 300 crore annually as royalty.”

The minister said that nothing is waste and that with the use of appropriate technology, we can convert waste into wealth.

Speaking about the achievements of the Road and Transport Ministry, Gadkari said, “I was pained to know that around one crore people in the country were driving cycle-rickshaw”. He added that 80 lakh people among them are driving E-rickshaws today.

Gadkari also released a book on ‘Environment Sustainability Initiatives by R. D. National College’. Apart from the inauguration of an organic garden, the National College also has a Water Recycling Plant, a medicinal garden, and solar panels.