Nitin Gadkari chairs Infrastructure meeting
On July 7, 2020, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari chaired an infrastructure meeting in New Delhi virtually. The other union ministers such as minister of railways, Environment, Forest and Climate change, heavy industries also participated in the meet.
Highlights
Several issues were considered at the meet. This includes pending infrastructure projects, outstanding forest clearance for 187 highway projects.
Other Important Highlights
The following factors were stressed during the meet
- The level crossings on the National Highways should be removed as they constitute to be major accident spots.
- The pending projects were agreed to be monitored under Setu Bharatam programme.
- It was highlighted that 30 road projects are still pending with the Railway ministry
Issues discussed
Tree cutting was one of the major issues in developing road infrastructure. The issue of introducing Arabian shrubs the shrubs are not included in land revenue codes of certain states such as Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Setu Bharatam Scheme
The scheme was launched by PM Modi in 2016 at a budget of 1.4 billion USD. The main aim of the project was to make all the National Highways free of railway crossings by 2019. Around 208 rail over and under bridges were to be constructed on national highways.
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Month: Current Affairs - July, 2020