To bring down deaths, safety must get highest priority while constructing roads: Nitin Gadkari
Raipur (PTI): Union minister Nitin Gadkari has drawn attention to the rising number of road accidents and consequent deaths, and stressed on giving safety the highest priority while constructing pathways in the country.
Addressing the 83rd annual session of the Indian Roads Congress at Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium here on Friday, he said if anyone dies in an accident due to road engineering fault in the future, then he will hold himself guilty for it.
Highlighting the Centre's efforts to prevent road accidents, he urged government engineers to quit their jobs and start a good DPR (detailed project report) making company, assuring them to give work on a priority basis.
The Minister of Road Transport and Highways emphasized on production of bitumen and CNG from stubble in agriculture-dominated Chhattisgarh, arguing the move will cut dependence on fossil fuels and check pollution.
He announced a slew of road projects for Chhattisgarh and said he believes the state will have a road network similar to that of America in the next two years.
"Every year 1.50 lakh deaths due to road accidents are reported which has now increased to 1.68 lakh. Efforts are on to improve the shortcomings in road engineering and automobile engineering but defective DPR has created a major problem," the minister maintained.
He advised government engineers to quit their jobs and start a good DPR-making company.
"We have been making serious efforts to prevent road accidents. Nearly 60 per cent victims of road accidents are aged between 18 and 34 years. I would like to urge you to build roads where no accidents take place (due to defective engineering works)," he said.
Improvement in road engineering will curb accidents and save lives, Gadkari asserted.
"We have made rules in automobile engineering. If anyone dies in an accident due to road engineering in the future, then I will feel that I am guilty for it," he told participants at the event.
Pointing at the gathering of officials and engineers, the minister said no tenders should be issued without carefully examining DPR for projects.
Road safety should be given the highest priority to prevent accident deaths, he added.
Gadkari emphasized the significance of waste-to-energy technologies and urged Chhattisgarh to work on producing CNG and bitumen using paddy straw.
The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) and the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, have developed bio-bitumen from paddy straw and it is being used in Meghalaya, he told the gathering.
"It (paddy straw) can be used up to 35 per cent in bitumen. The country's requirement of bitumen is 90 lakh metric tonnes and capacity of refinery is 40-50 lakh metric tonnes. We are importing 50 lakh metric tonnes," Gadkari said.
If Chhattisgarh starts producing bitumen from stubble, it will be a waste-to-wealth move, he said.
Similarly, 400 projects for producing bio-CNG and bio-LNG from paddy straw have started in Punjab and Haryana. If Chhattisgarh will do the same, no petrol and diesel will be required in the state, the Union minister opined.
Gadkari underlined the need to develop robust infrastructure to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India).
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
