Governor of Rajasthan Shri Kalraj ji, Chief Minister of Rajasthan Shri Ashok Gehlot ji, Chief Minister of Haryana Shri Manohar Lal ji, my Cabinet colleagues Nitin Gadkari ji, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat ji, VK Singh ji, all other ministers, MPs, other dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen!

I take great pride in dedicating the first phase of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway to the nation today. It is one of the largest and most modern expressways in the country. This is another grand picture of India moving on the path of development. I congratulate the people of Dausa and all the countrymen!

Brothers & Sisters,

When such modern roads, modern railway stations, railway tracks, metro rails and airports are built, then the country's progress gains momentum. There are many such studies in the world, which depict that the funds spent on infrastructure can have a multiplier effect on ground. Investment in infrastructure attracts even greater investments. For the last 9 years, the Central Government is also relentlessly making huge investments on infrastructure. In Rajasthan too, more than Rs 50,000 crore have been invested in the highways in the past years. In this year's budget, we have made a provision of Rs 10 lakh crore for infrastructure. This is 5 times more compared to that of 2014. A huge benefit of this investment is going to reach Rajasthan, its villages, poor and middle-class families.

Friends,

When the government invests in highways, railways, ports, airports; when the government lays optical fibre network, digital connectivity expands; when the government builds crores of houses for the poor, or sets up medical colleges, everyone gets a boost, be it the common man, traders, industries or small businesses. From the trade of goods like cement, iron rods, sand, gravel, to the transport sector, everyone benefits from it. Many new jobs are created in these industries. When a business flourishes, the number of people working in it also increases. That is, the more investment is made on infrastructure, the more employment is generated. Several people have got similar opportunities even during the construction of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

Friends,

There is another side to building modern infrastructure as well. When this infrastructure is ready, people like farmers, college and office commuters, truck-tempo drivers, businessmen, are better facilitated and their economic activities also grow further. For instance, with the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot expressway, the journey from Jaipur to Delhi which used to take 5-6 hours earlier, can now be covered in half the time. You can imagine how much time will be saved by this. The friends from this entire area who work in Delhi, or are engaged in business, or need to travel for any other work, can now easily reach their homes in the evening. Truck-tempo drivers who carry goods to and from Delhi will not have to spend their whole day on the road. Small farmers and cattle-rearers can now easily send their vegetables and milk to Delhi at a low cost. Now the risk of their goods getting perished on the way due to delay has also reduced.

Brothers & Sisters,

Rural haats are being built around this expressway. As a result, the local farmers, weavers, handicrafts-men will be able to sell their products easily. Besides Rajasthan, several districts of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra will be greatly benefitted by the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. New means of income are about to be created in Mewat district of Haryana and Dausa district of Rajasthan. This modern connectivity will also benefit several tourist places like Sariska Tiger Reserve, Keoladeo, Ranthambore National Park, Jaipur and Ajmer. Rajasthan has already been an attractive destination for tourists from the country and abroad. Now its attraction will increase even further.

Friends,

Apart from this, the foundation stone of three more projects has been laid today. One of these projects will provide direct connectivity to Jaipur through this expressway. With this, the journey from Jaipur to Delhi will be reduced to only 2.5 hours to 3 hours. The second project will connect this expressway with the Ambala-Kotputli corridor near Alwar. With this, vehicles coming from Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir will be able to go towards Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra easily. There is another project i.e. the development of the Lalsot-Karauli road. This road will not only connect this area with the expressway but will also make lives easier for the people of the area.

Friends,

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor are going to become two strong pillars of progress for Rajasthan and the country. These projects are going to change the image of this entire region including Rajasthan in the near future. Both these projects will strengthen the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. These road and freight corridors will connect several states in western India, including Haryana and Rajasthan, to ports. With this, new possibilities will start emerging for various types of industries related to logistics, transport and storage.

Friends,

I am glad that today this expressway is also getting a boost from the PM Gatishakti National Master Plan. Under the Gati Shakti masterplan, a corridor has been earmarked in this expressway for laying optical fibre required for the 5G network. Some space has also been earmarked for electrical wiring and gas pipelines. The surplus land will be used for the generation and warehousing of solar power. All these efforts will save crores of rupees in future and will save the country's time.

Friends,

‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ is our mantra for the development of Rajasthan and the country. Following this mantra, we are making an able, capable and prosperous India. Right now, I won't continue for longer here. 15 minutes later, I am supposed to speak at a public event nearby. A large number of people from Rajasthan are waiting there. So, I will share all the other topics with the people there. So, once again, I congratulate all of you for the modern expressway.

Thank you very much.

DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.

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DS/VJ/IG/AK