A minister with clear vision and practical ideas

New Delhi: 29 May 2014

In his very first interview after taking charge of the ministry for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari exhibited a rare clear vision of what he wants to achieve as immediate targets. His ideas were novel as well as practical and reflected the clarity of what needs to be done to implement them. The highlights of his vision are

• Promoting ethanol-friendly cars - the E85 engine used in Brazil and Canada uses 85 % ethanol and 15% petrol
• To study whether concrete roads, which are more durable and virtually maintenance-free, could be built instead of bitumen highways that get damaged due to rain and weather.
• Coordination of Ministries of Water Resources, Urban Development, Forest and Environment, Industry, Tourism and Power was exploring the possibility of a waterway of Gangotri-Kanpur-Allahabad-Kolkata for cargo and passenger movement.
• The Ganga river bank can be developed in such a fashion that tourism is also promoted by setting up airport-like terminals on its banks besides having light and sound shows.
• a screening committee has accorded approval for a World Bank study for making 1,620 km waterway from Kolkata to Allahabad
• Full transparency in the functioning of his department with e-tenders and e-governance.
• Putting in place a "a reward and punishment" system for road construction to ensure timely deliveries