We Need Rs 50,000 Crore For New Road Lanes Or Better Transport Systems - Gadkari Explains India’s Vehicle Growth Problem

If the number of vehicles in the country continues to grow at the same pace as now, then we will have to construct an additional lane on highways every year, which will lighten the government treasury by about Rs 50,000 crore, said Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari to The Times of India, quoting a study done by his ministry.

Elaborating on how the existing roads will not suffice unless the government finds ways to lessen the use of private vehicles, Gadkari said, “While we are expanding the highway network and increasing the length by converting more state highways to national highways the moot question is whether it's sustainable. We have to find solutions and graduate from building roads to improving mobility."

Reiterating what Indian policy makers have been saying for years now, Gadkari spoke about the need to strengthen the public transport system in order to reduce the load of private vehicles on roads. "We have to bring attractive public transport and other modes of shared transport system even on highway stretches, particularly between cities," he said adding that luxury double-decker buses could be one of them.

The study also mentions that a four-lane highway in Japan is adequate to manage 80,000 vehicles a day, while the same in India gets choked with only 20,000 vehicles. "This simply shows how we need to make our roads efficient. But we can't achieve the performance at par with roads in Japan if all types of vehicles besides cycles and cycle-rickshaws use the same space," said an official, as quoted by TOI.

This may lead to future highways having access controlled stretches that keep slow moving traffic off them. "There will be service roads for the slow moving traffic. That will reduce congestion and road crashes as well," a ministry official was quoted as saying.