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Rising Bharat Summit: “A policy that would give relief to tollpayers is in the works. It will be announced in 8-10 days. The toll amount will reduce 100%. That’s all I can reveal at the moment,” says Nitin Gadkari
Nitin Gadkari at the Rising Bharat Summit.
Highlighting the importance of traffic rules, Nitin Gadkari, minister of road transport and highways, at the Rising Bharat Summit 2025, said that his vehicle, too, was fined twice on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai.
“I made the Bandra-Worli sea link. I have a car in Mumbai. I got a challan for it twice. Nobody can escape. The camera catches everything. I had to pay Rs 500,” said Gadkari, adding, “People often complain of fine, but they should just not violate rules. Fine is not for revenue generation.”
When asked about the possibility of roads becoming toll-free, Gadkari said, “A policy that would give relief to tollpayers is in the works. It will be announced in 8-10 days. The toll amount will reduce 100%. That’s all I can reveal at the moment.”
PREVENTING ROAD MISHAPS
Elaborating on the ministry’s goal to reduce the accidents by 50%, he said, “Unfortunately, we have not been able to achieve the target. The cause of accidents include road and automobile engineering. The vehicles been made are in great condition. There were lacunae in road engineering. We spent Rs 40,000 crore to fix the black spots. We have announced Rs 25,000 award to those helping accident victims, under the Raahveer scheme. We are also looking to cover the expense of the injured. We have requested the PM.”
“Another factor is human behaviour. We want people to learn the rules of the road. We are looking to raise the height of the median, which people jump over like Olympic-level athletes, to 3.25ft. We will plant trees to stop people from jumping over it. We are looking to make foot overbridges, which two-wheeler riders and cyclists can use along with pedestrians. Also, we are aiming for a bridge for divyanjan,” said Gadkari.
“Another cause of 30,000 accidents deaths is helmetless driving. We are looking for manufacturers to sell two helmets along with the vehicle. Talking on the mobile…School exits and entry points also have lacunae which we have identified. Neither do people respect, nor do they respect the law,” he said.
“For driving licence, you can give test on mobile for a learner’s licence and then a test for the licence. The Nehru Yuva Centre is also working. Till the time people don’t learn to cooperate, things won’t change. Singer Shankar Mahadevan and actor Amitabh Bachchan helped in the campaign,” the minister said.
When asked if he experienced road rage, Gadkari said, “I made a talao in Nagpur. Once when I was going with 40-50 people, one was urinating, I got very angry. Violation is related to sanskar which is related to training. Mahadevan’s song will ensure change in behaviour. As society changes, human behaviour also changes.”
“In Nagpur, Save Life Foundation audited roads and the accidents reduced. We will see if it can be extended to other spots.”
ON NAGPUR RIOTS, AURANGZEB & WAQF
About the recent Nagpur riots, Gadkari said, “A neglected spark burns the house. We are looking for everyone to maintain peace.”
About Aurangzeb’s tomb, he said, “A lot has been said. Key people have given statements. Chhatrapati Shivaji had released Kalyan subhedar’s daughter-in-law, appreciating her beauty with respect. After killing Aurangzeb, Shivaji had buried him with respect. The Indian culture is important. We need to keep correct perspective to avoid chaos.
“Waqf will be of help. A lot of land has been grabbed. The law will help the Muslim community. It is not right to criticise for votebank. Understanding how it will help over the next 25-30 years is key,” the minister said.
Responding to the fight over speaking Marathi, he said, “Why do you take cognisance? That is why people do it. What is useful, it should be promoted and others should be ignored. Not caste, creed, religion, but your qualities define you.”
E-RICKSHAWS & ECO-FRIENDLY VEHICLES
About e-rickshaws, Gadkari said, “E-rickshaw is for the poor. It’s fare too is low. The automobile companies went to court. I took a stand that it was for the poor as otherwise one crore people run such vehicles manually which is inhumane. I brought down the price from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 80,000. Now, bigger firms are also making e-rickshaws. We are now studying ways to test these vehicles too so their quality is good. E-rickshaws don’t need licence, there is no pollution. It is a source of living for women and even the disabled. Too many rules may trouble the poor. We are looking for middle ground between quality, violations and humane approach.”
When asked which vehicle should be bought, he said, “Don’t buy petrol or diesel vehicle, rest buy anything…electric, hydrogen, flex engine, rice straw to CNG options are available. It is waste to wealth. Electric, flex fuel and hydrogen are key…Hydrogen is the fuel of the future….We will soon become a country that exports not imports fuel…We are looking at ropeways (Kedarnath for instance)…pods… Public transport on electricity should be the key. In Nagpur, we are studying flash charging for bus. The AC bus with executive chairs will charge on bus stop, and the ticket rate will be 30% less than diesel. We are trying to encourage public transport over cars. A manufacturer is looking at Hearthrow pods. Make in India will reduce the prices…We have Rs 50,000-crore project for Pune, Rs 1 lakh-crore for Delhi-NCR to prevent traffic snarls and pollution.”
ON TALKING TO LEADERS FROM OPPOSITION PARTIES
“When I met Karnataka CM, I gave him two ideas. An underground tunnel in Bengaluru. As the and granite will come out of it, it can sold and the roads can have toll. Also, a three-tier bridge like Chennai. He gave us a proposal to study it.”
“We make roads, it doesn’t matter who is the MP. I work for everyone in the country. The PM also says ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas, Sabka Vishwas’. I talk to Karnataka CM, Mamata Banerjee, MK Stalin whenever needed. Of the 38, Karnataka CM cleared 26 projects after my call. Can’t bring in politics.”
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP & SPEEDBREAKERS ON ROADS, LIFE
When asked about the ministry’s power for clearance of Bharatmala being reduced from Rs 3,000-crore to Rs 1,000 crore, he said, “We get approval for the entire corridor. The work is happening. We are looking for Rs 10-lakh-crore four-lane roads. The length is 25,000 km. My dream is to make highways 100km per day. If the 25,000km is achieved, it will be possible.”
About the BJP’s government coming to power in Delhi, Gadkari said, “Politics is the instrument of socioeconomic reform. I have 11 doctorates, of which six are in agriculture. I work on water conservation, organic fruits, make carpets from waste cloth, silk sarees, amino acid from hair. My social entrepreneurship turnover is Rs 2,500 crore. Working for seva and vikas. I got inspiration from Bhutan PM who spoke of happiness index. I want aam aadmi’s happy human index to be high in my area of work. If you do work, you don’t need posters. Doing social work with conviction firms up even your political base.”
When asked what food item he would make if he were to be organic farming product businessman, he said, “At one point, my weight was 135 kg. It is 89 kg today. I lost 46 kg. My next thought always even while coming here was which restaurant to eat at. Life is too short, try to enjoy it.”
“If you face a speedbreaker in life, remove it and throw it. Now, even for roads, I look to debar, arrest contractors…If mistakes are bona fide forgive, mala fide, then don’t…”
One note of caution for roads, Gadkari said, “Remember speedbreakers lead to slip disc and back pain. Don’t fight to get them for your roads.”
The News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2025 is where India’s defining conversations take centre stage. As the world acknowledges Bharat’s emerging power, this summit will bring together the biggest Indian leaders, global policymakers, industry stalwarts, tech innovators, and start-up revolutionaries to address the most urgent issues defining our future.