Gadkari discusses road projects in Maha with bankers, officers

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari today held a review meeting for road projects in Maharashtra with senior bankers and bureaucrats.
Gadkari, who also handles the shipping and ports departments, met senior bankers including those from state-run IDBI Bank and Bank of India, along other executives who help finance the high value and long-gestation infra projects, sources said.
The meeting comes amid a slew of concerns including the high bad asset accumulation in the road sector, projects getting stuck due to want of approvals and also a keenness among policymakers to find newer financing model for meeting the demands of the critical infra sector.

Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya and principal chief secretary of the public works department A K Singh were also part of the meeting, they said.
The primary focus of the meeting was the road sector, but top officials from the Inland Waterways Authority of India were also present, they said.
It is unclear as to which all road projects -- whether stalled or new ones -- got discussed at the meeting, which was held at the state's official guesthouse Sahyadri this afternoon.