Delhi-Meerut expressway will pave way for pollution-free future, says Narendra Modi at project launch

New Delhi: Carrying forward his agenda of infrastructure development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lauded his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee's plan for putting India at parity with other nations and said that he believed that interlinking the country's road network is one of the keys for growth.

Prime Minister Modi said Vajpayee initiated projects to bring about changes in the lives of rural India by increasing connectivity between villages.

"Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji was responsible for two great things. Plan for putting India on the map, shoulder to shoulder with other nations with the Swarnim-Chaturbhuj Express Highway. And secondly, Vajpayee ji wanted India's potential fully realised, for villages to be on the same plane of comparison, For this, he launched the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna," he said in his addressing after laying the foundation stone for Delhi-Meerut Expressway.

Prime Minister Modi also lauded Vajpayee for starting the Golden Quadrilateral Highway to provide connectivity to villages. He also highlighted the benefits that would be reaped merely because of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and said that it was not just an expressway but a road of development.

"This will be a hub of development with all towns in this range. Satellite townships will be developed. Meerut, Dehra Dun will become more developed," he said.

"7,500 crore worth project like this is bound to bring in more employment. Small time tea sellers, dhaba owners will benefit immensely from this," he added.

The Prime Minister reiterated that all the policies coined by his government were for the betterment of the nation's poor.