Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], July 10 (ANI): Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Friday held a high-level meeting with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and senior officials in Gandhinagar to conduct a comprehensive review of ongoing National Highway projects in the state.
During the meeting, Gadkari reviewed the progress of various National Highway projects being implemented in Gujarat and expressed satisfaction over the advancements made since the previous review meeting held with the state government in November 2025.
Chief Secretary M K Das and Advisor to the Chief Minister SS Rathore presented updates on the status of major infrastructure projects during the meeting.
During the presentation made by the Advisor to the Chief Minister, insights were provided on National Highway projects, including the six-laning of the Vadodara-Mumbai National Highway-48, the Samakhiali-Maliya section of the Morbi-Samakhiali road, the Rajkot-Gondal-Jetpur road, the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway, the Ahmedabad-Godhra-Indore road, the Jamnagar-Amritsar Expressway, the Palanpur-Samakhiali Corridor, and the Ahmedabad-Shamlaji six-lane project.
During a detailed review of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) projects under implementation in Gujarat, Gadkari said that work to extend the Ahmedabad-Dholera Expressway up to Bhavnagar will begin within the next three months.
The Union Minister also urged the Gujarat government to submit proposals to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways at the earliest to secure funding for National Highway projects under the Central Road Infrastructure Fund.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari congratulated Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel for adopting Gujarat’s model of suspending non-agricultural (NA) permission proceedings for 60 days during the DPR preparation stage to facilitate land acquisition for road alignments.
He said that the Gujarat model has the potential to become an example for the entire country in expediting infrastructure development.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that effective coordination among various departments of the state government has helped accelerate land acquisition and other processes related to road infrastructure development.
He also urged the Union Minister to expedite works related to the Palanpur-Samakhiali Corridor.
Continuing the environment-friendly development approach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gadkari emphasised that trees affected by road expansion projects should be transplanted to suitable locations along the same road, enabling infrastructure development while preserving the environment.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue Department, Dr Jayanti Ravi; Additional Chief Secretary, General Administration Department, Dr Anju Sharma; NHAI Technical Member Alok Deepankar; Chief Engineer, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Manoj Kumar; Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sanjeev Kumar; Principal Secretary, Forest and Environment Department, Dr Vinod Rao; Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Dr Vikrant Pandey; Secretary, Roads and Buildings Department, P R Patelia; Special Secretary Gandhi, along with other senior officials of NHAI and the Gujarat government. (ANI)
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