Expedite land acquisition for highways, says Gadkari

Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the Centre was ready to take up highway building projects in Karnataka, if the State government acquired the required land.

During his meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the national capital, Gadkari said funds were not an issue for building infrastructure. However, acquisition of land remains a big challenge. If the State government provides land, the Centre will take up any project, the minister said.

Siddaramaiah, along with Public Works Minister H C Mahadevappa and Bengaluru Urban Development Minister K J George, met Gadkari and requested him to sanction funds for various highway projects, including building an elevated road from Hosur Road to Nelamangala in Bengaluru.

The State government requested the Centre to fund widening of the Bengaluru-Mysore national highway from the existing four lane to six lane and constructing an eight-lane road from Nelamangala to Tumakuru.

Emerging from the meeting, the chief minister told reporters that Gadkari was positive about the proposals and officials of the Centre and State government would finalise the projects soon.