Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal pitches for PM Gati Shakti Plan

DIBRUGARH: Union Minister for Shipping, Ports & Waterways and AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal pitched for the government's ambitious PM Gati Shakti Master Plan.

Speaking at a press conference here today, the minister highlighted the salient features of this plan and explained how it is going to give impetus to 21st century India.

On the auspicious day of Maha Ashtami, the day of worshipping Shakti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a massive Rs 100-trillion infrastructure initiative which is dubbed as the country's roadmap for the next 25 years. Sonowal, while

explaining the brilliance of this major initiative, said that the project was aimed at bringing in seamlessness and coordination among 16 ministries and departments for apt planning and smooth execution of infrastructure projects. Major Central Government ministries like Railways, Roads and Highways, Petroleum & Gas, Power, Telecom, Shipping and Aviation will be part of this project.

Speaking further on the power of this plan, Sonowal said, "There has always been a gap between macro planning and micro execution. Due to bureaucratic entanglements and inter-ministerial silos, the work used to get held up costing the exchequer huge cost. To address this problem, the plan envisions a digital portal with all existing and planned infrastructure projects of the ministries and departments included in the project. It further aims to create multimodal connectivity that will reduce costs. With holistic planning and execution, there is going to be swift execution and savings on time and money. With the transparency of progress, it will be now easier to prioritize projects through cross-sectoral interactions."

The government expects that this initiative will also bring in huge benefits to state governments as they will now be able to figure out time frames for a particular infrastructure project and accordingly pitch for investor interest by giving a reasonable period of commitment. The project aims to bring down the logistical cost by developing last-mile connectivity as well as optimally using all the economic zones and industrial parks through the development of multi-modal connectivity. (PIB)

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