NDA: Infra push in speed lane more likely
FM Sitharaman announced capital expenditure of Rs10 lakh cr, which was raised to `11.11 lakh cr for FY25 in the Interim Budget;
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) govt will persist with massive capital expenditure. The doubts about the new regime’s ability to continue with infrastructure projects are ill - founded, a senior BJP leader tells Bizz Buzz
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) failure to get a majority in the Lok Sabha will have no impact on its ambitious infrastructure building, as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government will persist with massive capital expenditure. The doubts about the new regime’s ability to continue with infrastructure projects are ill-founded, a senior BJP leader told Bizz Buzz.
Infrastructure building has been a success story of the BJP government under Narendra Modi in the last 10 years. Everything about it, from expenditure to physical performance, has undergone a sea change, he said, adding that there is no reason why the good work being done would not be continued.
The Congress-led UPA government had allocated Rs166,756 crore for infrastructure in 2013-14. A decade later, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced capital expenditure of Rs10 lakh crore, which was raised to Rs11.11 lakh crore for 2024-25 in the Interim Budget.
Since 2014, there has been a 500 per cent increase in the road transport and highway budget allocation, leading to a substantial enhancement in infrastructure development, an official said in March this year. Moreover, the national highway (NH) network expanded by 60 per cent from 91,287 km in 2014 to 146,145 km by 2023.
The length of four-lane NH increased by 2.5 times, from 18,387 km in 2014 to 46,179 km in November 2023. The average pace of NH construction also saw a remarkable increase, rising by 143 per cent to 28.3 km per day from the baseline 12.1 km per day in 2014, it added.
The BJP government added 31,000 km of railway tracks in the last 10 years, the BJP said in its election manifesto, promising more than 5,000 km in its third term. For safety, it has promised the Kavach Automated Protection System. It also pledged metro rail in other cities, more feasibility studies for bullet trains, and railway stations with ‘world class standards.’
The manifesto promised the expansion of expressways, ring roads, and rural roads. It also promised to increase air connectivity ‘manifold,’ modernize airports, and expand international airports. Water connectivity is another focus area. Among other things, the BJP manifesto pledged more water to metros.
