Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari today launched here a web portal for online approval of movement of Over Dimensional (OD) and Over Weight Cargo (OWC). Speaking on the occasion, Shri Gadkari said the digitalization in the sector will ensure smoother movement of heavy transport and make system corruption free. He said that 108 e-tolls have become operational in the country and the number will go up to 350 by March this year. He said the Government is working on taking states on board for smoother transport. Underlining the need to make the country pollution free, the Minister said that there is need to promote clean fuels in transport sector. He said the Government will give priority to development of waterways in the country as the transportation by this mode is the cheapest.
Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Shri Piyush Goyal, who was also present on the occasion, said the initiative will immensely help the power sector by facilitating easy movement of power equipment. He said besides making the system transparent it will provide a level playing field for those involved in transport industry. He called upon the transport sector to help the Government in its initiatives such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and in saving the electricity. Earlier speaking on the occasion, Shri Vijay Chhibber, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways said that rapid transportation is necessary for success of ‘Make in India’ drive. He said the imitative will significantly contribute to the country’s economy. The launch is accompanied by a day-long seminar on “Heavy Transport in India: Entering a New Era Through Digitalization”. It is being attended by major stakeholders like heavy equipment manufacturers, project owners, Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies and various research and academic institutions from across the country.