Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari today said that 406 highway projects worth ₹3.85 lakh crore were stuck when the BJP led NDA government took over in 2014. Gadkari said the ministry brought together the banks, and highways developers under one roof to resolve the issues to revive projects immediately after taking over.
“No work was going on. No one was willing to fund the highway projects. Banks were also facing problems. NPAs were mounting in the highways sector. We tried to find a way out and held a close review of each project with the banks and the concerned companies. Projects worth ₹40,000 crore were terminated. In many cases, we replaced the contractors. We salvaged the banks from possible NPAs worth ₹3 lakh crore in the roads sector,” Gadkari said addressing a conference on electronic bank guarantees and surety bonds organised by the National Highways Authority of India in New Delhi.