road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday that his ministry will issue road contracts worth Rs 3 lakh crore within three months. He said that the ministry will issue contracts worth Rs 5 lakh crore in the current financial year. Speaking at an event, Gadkari said that the pace of awarding road projects was slow in the initial months of the current financial year due to the Lok Sabha elections and the model code of conduct.
Easier to raise funds for projects
He said, “I assure you that within three months we will finalise (road) contracts worth more than Rs 3 lakh crore and our target is to award (road) contracts worth more than Rs 5 lakh crore by March 2025.” Gadkari said the ministry has a lot of road projects in process and raising funds for these projects will not be a problem as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has a very good reputation in the capital market.
Toll income is Rs 45,000 crore
The minister said the current toll revenue of NHAI is Rs 45,000 crore and it will reach Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the next two years. Gadkari said, “We are monetizing road assets, which is giving us money. So there is no problem of resources.”
Insurance can be cheaper
Recently, Gadkari has written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to abolish the GST on insurance policy premium. If the Finance Minister accepts the demand of this letter and abolishes GST on insurance premium, then it will provide relief to millions of people, because the premium will be reduced. It is written in the letter that imposing GST on life insurance premium is like imposing tax on the uncertainties of life.
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