MP CM urges Gadkari to approve road projects worth Rs 1,858 cr

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged Union minister Nitin Gadkari to approve 26 road projects worth Rs 1,858 crore in the state and also requested him to consider developing a 'Narmada Expressway' from Amarkantak to the Gulf of Khambat.

Chouhan and Gadkari met at the CM's official residence here on Sunday evening.

"The chief minister has urged Gadkari to approve 26 road projects worth Rs 1,858 crore under the Central Road Fund Scheme," a public relations department official said.

Besides, Chouhan also requested the Minister for Road Transport and Highways to consider developing a 'Narmada Expressway', from the origin of the river Narmada in Amarkantak (MP) to the Gulf of Khambat (Gujarat) with an industrial corridor on its both sides, the official said.

Gadkari informed on the occasion that under the Bharat Mala scheme, an action plan has been made to provide Rs 50,000 crore to MP for the development of national highways.

The Union minister also urged the state government to get forest clearances and land acquisition works done on priority, the official said.

Chouhan said the world famous Khajuraho temple city in MP is being developed by the Union Tourism Ministry as an "iconic site". Therefore, it is necessary to develop a 10.15- km-long Banitha-Khajuraho national highway as a four-lane road for providing smooth connectivity to the world heritage site.

A proposal of Rs 71 crore for this is pending for approval with the central government and the CM urged Gadkari to give his ministry's nod as the earliest, the official said.

Chouhan also suggested linking the Indore-Jabalpur road via Budhni to reduce the distance between the two cities.

Later, addressing the inaugural session of the 'Sarthak Eduvision 2021', a three-day event organised here by the Bhartiya Shiksha Mandal, Gadkari said the education policy should have provisions to fulfil the country's requirement for the next 50 years for achieving long-term objectives.

He also insisted on having a provision for new experiments in life, and highlighted how he has encouraged the production of paint with the use of cow dung, which has not only cleared all quality standards but is also 50 per cent cheaper than the popular brands of paints.

The Union minister suggested for setting up one such factory of producing paint using cow dung in each village of the country so that villagers can sell the cow dung for Rs 5 per kg to the plant owners and in the process, the rural economy and growth will improve, the official said.