Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated a 246-km section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Dausa.The PM pressed the button of a remote to mark the opening of the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section.Developed at a cost of more than ₹12,150 crore, this first completed section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will provide a major boost to the economic development of the entire region, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.Modi launched road development projects worth more than ₹18,100 crore from Dausa. During the programme, Modi laid the foundation stone of 247 km of national highway projects to be developed at a cost of more than ₹5,940 crore.
According to the PMO, Modi's emphasis on the building of excellent road infrastructure as an engine of growth, development and connectivity in "New India" is being realised by the construction of a number of ongoing world-class expressways across the country. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will be India's longest with a length of 1,386 km. It will reduce the travel distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 12 per cent, from 1,424 km to 1,242 km, while the travel time will be cut by 50 per cent, from the current 24 hours to 12 hours, it said. The expressway will pass through six states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra and connect major cities like Kota, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vadodara and Surat. Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, Union MoS VK Singh, Union minister Gajendra Singh and other leaders were present on the stage at the function. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal khattar addressed the programme through a video link.