New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has admitted that he is embarrassed at the time Mumbai’s highway to Goa took to be completed and he would not attend the event when it is finally operational. While inaugurating a new 6-lane Elevated Road at Porvorim, near Panaji in Goa on Wednesday, he expressed his sentiments.
Gadkari termed the highway project a “long pending case” and said they had done everything possible to expedite the process. The work has reportedly taken 16-17 years to complete, an unfortunate and embarrassing period that he says will be over soon. Many contractors did not finish their work within time, blamed on him.
The minister said that he did not wish to wait for the completion of the highway, so he already had the decision made a while ago to not be present at the ribbon cutting ceremony. He has made this decision earlier as he felt bad that the project had been delayed for so long.
The report said that the highway is nearing completion with roughly 93-94 percent work completed to date. Despite that, Gadkari is not considering resting on his laurels. He will board a plane into Mumbai in October after that he will drive the entire distance to Goa himself, he said. So he can see the highway for himself and see if it has made travel easier for highway users.
Gadkari too had a strong criticism for the slow pace of progress at the helm. He said that his ministry has already set over seven world records so far for various projects but now he would like to set a new one. This time, he would like to repeat the record of punishing a largest number of contractors and suspend a maximum number of officials due to poor work in a year.
Gadkari, apart from highlighting the highway, also talked about his political agenda. He said he’s receiving invitations from other states but will stick around home to contest elections again “as long as my party continues to provide me the chance.
The Mumbai-Goa Highway has been a critical link for those travelling towards the Konkan coast, a cause of great inconvenience to people since long.
