Local Communities of the North-East Should be Engaged in the Road Construction Work: Shri Nitin Gadkari The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari said that the people of North East have lot of expectations and infrastructure development in the north eastern region of India is of utmost importance for the socio-economic development of the people there. The local communities should be engaged in the construction work and thus providing the avenues of employment and development to them. He was speaking on the occasion of the Inception Day function of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) in New Delhi yesterday. The NHIDCL is a Public Sector Undertaking of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and was incorporated on 18th July 2014 with an objective to fast pace construction of National Highways and other infrastructure in the North Eastern Region and Strategic Areas of India. Shri Nitin Gadkari said that the NHIDCL has taken a challenging task and it should make all efforts to convert it into an opportunity. The Minister also emphasized upon the monitoring of the projects. He said that transparency and fast-track decision making are essential for the successful functioning. While addressing the gathering, Shri P. Radhakrishnan, MoS for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping said that the Prime Minister has been taking keen interest in the development of North Eastern region of the country. He said that infrastructure development in the border areas will help in boosting of cross-border trade and investment. He also said that the NHIDCL can enhance the pace of development with the help of stakeholders including local contractors and make them an important partner in the development of infrastructure. It can also be a catalyst for the employment, the MoS added. Those who addressed the gathering also included Shri Vijay Chhibber, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Shri Deepak Das Gupta, former Chairman, NHAI and Shri Anand Kumar, Managing Director, NHIDCL. Senior officials of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and NHIDCL were also present on the occasion.