Gadkari’s Many Deadlines To Turn Indian Roads Into US-Style Highways
New Delhi: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday once again reiterated that Indian road infrastructure will be comparable to America’s in another two years, noting that the government has ramped up spending on roads and highways over the past decade.
Notably, a user on social media platform X has pointed out several deadlines promised by the transport minister to make Indian roads US-Style Highways. The user, Zucker Doctor, shared several screenshots of the news reports from the past five years in which the minister can be seen giving promises like ‘in two years, three years, by end of 2024, etc.’
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At different times, at different occasions, the union minister can be seen making promises and deadlines about the government’s plan to make Indian roads American style. In August 2020, Gadkari said that strategic road infrastructure building will put India on par with the US and UK in two years. A year later in August 2021, the minister asserted that India would have US standard highways in three years.
In June 2022, Gadkari claimed that Bihar’s road network has seen tremendous growth in the last few years, adding that the state’s road infrastructure will be on par with that of the US by December 2024. The minister continued to give deadlines in the following years too. In May 2023, Gadkari promised that Rajasthan’s roads would be made at par with those of America’s by the end of 2024. In October 2024, the minister extended the deadline, stating India’s road infrastructure would be better than that of America’s in two years.
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The X user, sharing these news bites, wrote, “This statement from Nitin Gadkari gave me a sense of déjà vu, so I did a quick keyword search and in 30 seconds found these from 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025. Gadkari ji, 2-3 saal khatam hi nahi ho rahe hai”
Meanwhile, another user, Mumbaikar, slammed Zucker for his post, asking him to consider all the infrastructure work the minister had initiated and completed. Even while admitting the minister had exaggerated, Zucker acknowledged he could see the progress and appreciated the infrastructure improvements. “But surely that does not mean you give a free pass to someone who claims the same thing every year for years,” he added.
This statement from Nitin Gadkari gave me a sense of déjà vu so I did a quick key word search and in 30 seconds found these from 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025.
Gadkari ji, 2-3 saal khatam hi nahi ho rahe hai 😭 https://t.co/4iDXTS6Z0N pic.twitter.com/bwJ3gk87qv
— Zucker Doctor (@DoctorLFC) June 9, 2025
However, the roads and highways minister, on Monday, June 9, again reiterated his promise that Indian roads will be similar to America’s in two years, suggesting another extension to the deadline he himself set earlier.
“The question is not about the facelift, it has already changed. You have just watched the newsreel, the main picture is yet to start. The projects in the pipeline are progressing rapidly. In another two years, you will be able to see that Indian road infrastructure will be similar to that of America,” Gadkari said in an interview with news agency ANI.
