Terming the Budget as 'revolutionary', Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari today said development of multi-modal transport hubs would help ease traffic congestion and bring down pollution.
Gadkari also expressed hope that tax exemption on Masala Bonds will help mobilise more investments.
He also lauded the top priority accorded in the budget to the growth of agriculture and rural sectors, and to weeding out of corruption and black money.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocated a record Rs 3.95 lakh crore for infrastructure development and termed the sector as top priority of the government, saying the magnitude of investment in the space is bound to spur growth.
The Budget 2017-18 has made a provision of Rs 2,41,381 Crores for the transport sector as a whole. This includes rail, roads and shipping. It is expected that an effective multi-modal logistics and transport sector will make the economy more competitive.
The Budget allocation for Highways has gone up from Rs 57,976 crores in BE 2016-17 to Rs 64,900 crores in 2017-18. 2,000 kms of coastal connectivity roads have been identified for construction and development. This will facilitate better connectivity with ports and remote villages.
For the Shipping Ministry the allocation has gone up from Rs 1531 crores in BE 2016-17 to Rs 1773 Crores Rs 600 crores have been allocated for Sagarmala programme.
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