Infra projects of Rs 100 lakh cr in next 5 years: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that infrastructure projects worth a staggering Rs 100-lakh crore will come up over the next five years in India, here on Saturday.

“When the country is moving towards becoming a $5-trillion economy, its imperative for our cities to take simultaneous strides into the 21st century, for which the government will spend Rs 100 lakh-crore over the next five years,” Modi said, reiterating his comments made in the Independence Day speech.

Taking a cue from the PM’s statement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday set up a special Task Force to implement various projects including social and economic infrastructure projects where this stupendous amount would be invested.

The Task Force, which comprises top officials of various departments of the Finance Ministry, the NITI Aayog, will identify technically feasible and economically viable projects for the current year, and other projects for the next five years, estimate annual infrastructure investments/capital costs, guide ministries to identify sources of finance and monitoring to minimize costs and delays.

Modi also hailed the 100-day performance by his Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA 2.0 government as “unprecedented and historic” on all fronts.

“We have been working speedily in all sectors, whether it is the Jal Jeevan Mission, respect and help to each and every farmer in the country, setting free our Muslim women from the malaise of Triple Talaq, or laws for strengthening children’s security,” he said.

The PM added that the country must fulfill the dreams and aspirations of the past and present and also prepare for the future from now to ensure a better and happy life for our children.

“We must ensure that the future generations do not suffer the same type of problems which we were accustomed to, and the improvement of each individual will result in the country’s progress,” Modi urged.

Earlier, launching major Metro railway-related infrastructure projects worth over Rs 20,000 crore for Mumbai, Modi said that these would help make the lives of Mumbaikars “easy and time-saving”.

Dwelling on the upcoming Metro Railway networks, the PM said that in the past five years alone, projects worth Rs 150,000-crore have been initiated in Mumbai.

Presently, the city has only 11 km of the Mumbai Metro (the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor), but by 2022-2023, it will shoot up to around 350 km which will create a large number of jobs and ease the sufferings of the Mumbai commuters.

Besides, he said that of the 675 km operational Metros in 27 cities across the country, around 400 km came up only in the past five years of the NDA rule, and another 600 km new lines have already been sanctioned.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and ally Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray thanked the PM for revoking Article 370 of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state.

Starting his speech with chants of “Ganpati Bappa Morya”, Modi ended by urging the people to resolve to clean up the city’s beaches and Mithi River after the immersion ceremonies of Lord Ganesha on September 12, marking the culmination of the 10-day long Ganeshotsav festival in the state.

Earlier, in his half-day visit to Maharashtra, the PM laid the foundation stone for three Metro lines in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), with a total length of 42 kms – Metro 10 (9.2 km) Gaimukh to Mira Road, Metro 11 (12.7 km), Wadala to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Metro 12 (20.7 km) long, Kalyan to Taloja.

These lines connecting Mumbai and MMR, will have a ridership of an estimated five million commuters daily when fully operational within five years, said Fadnavis.

Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the high-tech 32-storied Metro Bhavan, coming up on a five-acre plot, which will control the 14 upcoming Metro lines over 340 km, inaugurated the Bandongri Metro station in Kandivali East on Metro 7 corridor, and a state-of-the-art metro coach built under Make In India initiative, besides releasing a Brand Vision Document for Mumbai Maha Metro.

Present at these events were Maharashtra Governor B. S. Koshyari, Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Ramdas Athawale, Arvind Sawant, Maharashtra ministers Chandrakant Patil, Vinod Tawade, Ashish Shelar, Yogesh Sagar, Vidya Thakur, MPs, legislators, officials and others.-IANS news