11 hours Ago By Dipak K Dash
Nitin Gadkari (PTI Image) NEW DELHI: In this age of social media, you can’t sweep things under the carpet, Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday while highlighting how even small issues relating to quality of road and toll become viral. He said the use of social media has become a tool for the public to expose all and it’s a wake up call for all to fix problems quickly, else none in govt would be spared. Speaking at an workshop on adoption of Automated and Intelligent Machine-Aided Construction (AIMC) technology in highway construction , Gadkari said, “When you do good work, I get credit.
But when there is a pothole on a highway, people criticise me...
People criticised us on social media platforms when there were potholes on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. Ab kisiki chori chhip nehin sakti (Now none can hide his/ her mistake). We all must understand that all those who are responsible will be fully exposed, if we don’t address issues quickly.
” The minister said that even the PM seeks details after receiving complaints and because of transparency none can hide anything. Referring to how there have been several memes on him for tolling on highways, Gadkari said, “Those who get the toll revenue are never criticised, but only I face the criticism. I will request the road transport secretary to bring a norm to put up hoardings mentioning the names of contractor, consultant, project director and defect liability period so that people come to know who is responsible.
” On the new technology for better quality highway construction, the minister said he is in favour of making the use of AIMC technology mandatory, which has been used for the newly built Kanpur-Lucknow expressway. Union road transport secretary V Umashnakar said the govt is looking at making this mandatory at least for greenfield (new alignment) highway and expressway projects. The AIMC technology offers various benefits during the construction of NH corridors.
These include automatic machine guided construction, repository of digitized construction data that can be used for digital twin applications, real time documentation, high adherence to design specifications, time efficient and reduces wastage, time bound construction without compromising quality of construction, improved rideability, enhanced performance durability and longevity, increased productivity, better transparency and minimum human interventions. Earlier in the day, while speaking at another event of sugar industry, Gadkari said political pressure plays a key role in policy decisions, highlighting how cane growers can impact poll outcomes across 178 Lok Sabha constituencies in the country. The minister said that after the Delhi elections, he would hold a meeting with oil marketing companies where they will discuss ways and means to make retail ethanol prices reasonable.
He added that one OMC had priced per litre ethanol at Rs 110 in the retail market, higher than the market price of petrol. “Possibly on February 6 or 7, we will hold a meeting. petroleum minister (Hardeep Puri) has told me that the rate of ethanol at which the govt procures and the selling price can be rationalised at a reasonable level (so that they are not retailed at elevated prices),” Gadkari said.
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