Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday that he is willing to allocate Rs 25,000-30,000 crore over the next five years to improve Goa’s road network. Pointing to the major traffic congestion in tourist destinations such as Rishikesh and Dehradun, Gadkari urged Goa govt to create a comprehensive master plan that focuses on transportation and reduction of pollution. The allocation for Goa will be particularly valuable to the eastern ring road project, planned to allow traffic from Karnataka and Maharashtra to travel without cutting through urban pockets.
Gadkari said after inaugurating the six-lane, access-controlled elevated corridor that connects NH 66 to Manohar International Airport. “The first impact of wide roads was that the number of tourists increased threefold. Massive congestion and traffic jams materialised as the distance to Rishikesh and Dehradun was reduced,” Gadkari said.
“By creating a master plan for Goa, you can aim to free the state from pollution and make public transportation popular. This is my appeal to the chief minister and state govt.” Gadkari added, “Building bigger roads has advantages as well as disadvantages.
When the roads are good, more people drive to destinations, but this increases pollution.” One of his suggestions to chief minister Pramod Sawant was to convert Goa’s bike taxis to CNG or electric motorcycles. He also said that Goa’s entire public transportation should be powered by elect.
