'Felt ashamed': Gadkari on highway delay, vows record for blacklisting contractors

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has called the nearly 15-year delay in widening the Mumbai-Goa Highway a matter of shame, saying he will skip the project's inauguration when the work is finally completed.

Speaking after inaugurating a separate six-lane elevated road corridor at Porvorim near Panaji on Wednesday, Gadkari said he would instead travel from Mumbai to Goa by road in October to personally inspect the highway and assess whether the journey has actually become more convenient for commuters.

“I had announced (earlier) that I would not come for the inauguration of the (widened) Mumbai-Goa highway because I felt ashamed that it had been delayed so much,” he said.