Snapshot
PM Narendra Modi launched PM Gati Shakti – National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity.
The PM lamented that the subject of Infrastructure in our country had not been a priority for most political parties.
PM Modi recalled that in 2014 when he took over as Prime Minister, he reviewed hundreds of stuck projects, put all projects on a single platform, and tried to remove hurdles.
The Prime Minister elaborated upon the steps taken to increase the speed of infrastructure development in India.
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi launched PM Gati Shakti – National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity on Wednesday (13 October). He also inaugurated the New Exhibition Complex at Pragati Maidan.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister noted that the auspicious day of Ashtami is the day of worshipping Shakti and said that on this auspicious occasion, the speed of the nation’s progress is also getting new Shakti.
The PM lamented that the subject of Infrastructure in our country had not been a priority for most political parties.
“This (Infrastructure) is not even visible in their manifesto. Now the situation has come that some political parties have started criticising the construction of necessary Infrastructure for the country,” the Prime Minister said.
It is globally accepted that the creation of quality infrastructure for Sustainable Development is a proven way, which gives rise to many economic activities and creates employment on a large scale, the Prime Minister pointed out.
The Prime Minister said that the wide gap between macro planning and micro implementation problems of lack of coordination, lack of advance information, thinking and working in silos lead to hampered construction and wastage of budget.
“Shakti gets divided instead of getting multiplied or enhanced. PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan will address this as working on the basis of the master plan will lead to optimum utilisation of resources,” PM noted.
PM Modi recalled that in 2014 when he took over as Prime Minister, he reviewed hundreds of stuck projects, put all projects on a single platform, and tried to remove hurdles.
He expressed satisfaction that now the focus is on avoiding delays due to lack of coordination. The Prime Minister said now with the whole government approach, the collective power of the government is being channelled into fulfilling the schemes. Because of this, many unfinished projects have been completed, he said.
The Prime Minister remarked that the PM Gati Shakti Master Plan brings together the government process and its various stakeholders and helps to integrate different modes of transportation.
Progress From 2014 In Infrastructure Development
The Prime Minister elaborated upon the steps taken to increase the speed of infrastructure development in India. He said that the first interstate natural gas pipeline in India was commissioned in 1987. After this, till 2014, i.e. in 27 years, a 15,000 km long natural gas pipeline was built. Today, work is going on for a more than 16,000 km long gas pipeline across the country. He added that this work is targeted to be completed in the next five to six years.
In the five years before 2014, the prime minister said only 1,900 km of railway lines underwent doubling. In the last seven years, more than nine thousand kilometres of railway lines have been doubled.
In the five years before 2014, only 3,000 km of railways were electrified. More than 24,000 kilometres of railway tracks have been electrified in the last seven years, Modi informed the gathering.
The Prime Minister said metro rail was running on only about 250 km of track before 2014. Today the metro has been expanded up to 700 km, and work is going on in the 1,000 km new metro route.
In the five years before 2014, only 60 panchayats could be connected with optical fibre. In the last seven years, we have connected more than 1.5 lakh gram panchayats with optical fibre.
“In order to increase the income of the farmers and fishermen of the country, the Infrastructure related to processing is also being expanded rapidly. In 2014, there were only two Mega Food Parks in the country. Today 19 Mega Food Parks are functioning in the country. Now the target is to take their number to more than 40,” PM said.
“There were just five waterways in 2014, today India has 13 functional waterways. Turnaround time of the vessels at the ports has come down to 27 hours from 41 hours in 2014,” PM Modi said regarding the water transport sector.
He said that the country had realised the pledge of One Nation One Grid. Today India has 4.25 lakh circuit kilometres of power transmission lines compared to three lakh circuit kilometres in 2014.
The Prime Minister expressed the hope that with the development of quality infrastructure, India can realise the dream of becoming the business capital of India.
“Our goals are extraordinary and will require extraordinary efforts. In realising these goals, PM Gati Shakti will be the most helpful factor. Just as JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhar, Mobile) trinity revolutionised the access of government facilities to the people , PM Gati Shakti will do the same for the field of Infrastructure,” he added.