Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has criticised the prolonged delay in widening the Mumbai-Goa highway and said he will travel by road from Mumbai to Goa in October to inspect whether the route has become more convenient for travellers. He also threatened strict action against contractors and officials linked to delays and poor execution.
Gadkari said he would not attend the inauguration of the widened Mumbai-Goa highway because he felt “ashamed” that the project had taken so long. He said a meeting on the highway was held with officials on Tuesday and that the road project was now nearly 93-94% complete.
“I had announced (earlier) that I would not come for the inauguration of the (widened) Mumbai-Goa highway because I felt ashamed that it had been delayed so much,” Gadkari said after inaugurating a six-lane elevated road corridor at Porvorim near Panaji.
The minister said he would land at Mumbai airport in October and travel by road to Goa to assess the condition of the highway and whether the journey had been made more convenient for motorists. The widening project passes through Maharashtra’s coastal Konkan region and has faced repeated delays.
Gadkari also said he intended to set a record for blacklisting contractors and suspending officials responsible for delayed or poorly executed infrastructure projects. “Now I want to set a record of blacklisting the maximum number of contractors and taking action against them, as well as suspending officials, within a year. I am not going to stop doing this now,” he said.
The comments came during the inauguration of a Rs 641-crore, 5.15-km elevated corridor on NH-66 at Porvorim. The corridor is expected to reduce travel time by around 30-40 minutes and ease traffic at three major junctions. Gadkari said the existing two-lane road now had a 10-lane capacity, with four lanes below and six lanes above.
The elevated road is intended to strengthen connections between Panaji, Porvorim, Mapusa and North Goa, while also improving access towards Mopa International Airport and neighbouring Maharashtra. The project was inaugurated in the presence of Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant, Union minister Shripad Naik, state ministers and other officials.
Gadkari asked the Goa government to develop roadside amenities along the Mumbai-Goa highway that reflect the state’s architecture, cuisine and handicraft traditions. He said facilities should showcase Goan food, handloom and handicraft products while serving travellers along the route.
He also called for fuel stations on the highway to include facilities for biofuels, electric vehicles and other alternative fuels. The minister urged authorities to adopt scientific landscaping rather than arbitrary tree plantation by contractors and proposed developing the highway as a “green highway” along the lines of an “oxygen park”.
Gadkari further urged the Goa government to address water, air and noise pollution and prevent waste from entering the sea. He called for a comprehensive traffic study and reforms that could include consolidating markets, moving warehouses outside cities, improving bus depots and synchronising traffic to ease congestion.
The minister also advocated greater use of electric, hydrogen and flex-fuel technologies, saying alternative fuels could help reduce pollution. His planned October road inspection and the government’s response to delays and execution quality are the next stated developments for the Mumbai-Goa highway project.
