India’s network of national highways, at 1.45 lakh km, is now the second largest in the world after the United States, and it has increased by 59 per cent in the past nine years of the Modi government, said Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways on Tuesday. Gadkari also said that the revenues from tolls rose to Rs 41,342 crore in FY23 from Rs 4,770 crore in 2013-14. He was speaking about the achievements of the nine years of the NDA government, in a press conference in Delhi.The government aims to increase the toll revenue to Rs 1,30,000 crore by 2020, Gadkari said. The usage of FASTags has helped in reducing the waiting time at the toll plazas to 47 seconds, and various measures to reduce it further to below 30 seconds are underway, he noted. The waiting time is envisaged to be completely eliminated by 2047, according to a document shared by the ministry. He also said that, in the last nine years, the 4-lane NH increased about two-fold to 44,654 km from 18,371 km in 2013-14. Gadkari urged investors to consider investing in NHAI INviT, which offers an attractive interest rate of 8.05 per cent, surpassing traditional bank rates. (With PTI inputs)
