'Need for decentralisation': Number of poor rising as wealth concentrates within some hands; 'should not happen,' says Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday raised concern over the growing number of poor people in the country, saying that wealth was increasingly being concentrated in the hands of a few. Speaking at an event in Nagpur, the road transport and highways minister stressed the need for decentralisation of wealth and inclusive economic growth.

“Slowly the number of poor people is increasing and wealth is getting centralised in the hands of some wealthy people.

It should not happen,” he said. Gadkari said the economy must grow in a way that creates employment and uplifts rural areas. “We are looking at an economic option that will create jobs and (give a boost to the) growth of the economy. There is a need for decentralisation of wealth, and many changes have happened in that direction,” he added. He credited former prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh for introducing liberal economic policies, but warned against letting centralisation go unchecked. “We have to be worried about it,” he said. Highlighting sectoral imbalance in the economy, Gadkari pointed out that while manufacturing contributes 22–24% and services 52–54% to GDP, agriculture, which employs 65–70% of the rural population, contributes only about 12%.

Invoking Swami Vivekananda, Gadkari said, “Philosophy cannot be taught to someone whose stomach is empty.” He also underlined the changing role of chartered accountants. “CAs can be the growth engines of the economy. Our economy is changing rapidly. It is not only about filing income tax returns and GST submissions,” he said. Gadkari spoke about his contributions to the transport sector, including the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model.

“I was the one who started the Build-Operate-Transfer system for road construction,” he said. He claimed there was no shortage of money for road projects. “Sometimes I say I do not have a fund crunch but I have a shortage of work,” Gadkari remarked. “Now, we earn nearly Rs 55,000 crore through toll booths and in the next two years, our income will go up to Rs 1.40 lakh crore. If we monetise it for the next 15 years, we will have Rs 12 lakh crore.

New toll will add more money to our coffers,” he said. The minister also discussed projects aimed at improving connectivity and encouraging investment. He further added that at present, toll booths earn almost Rs 55,000 crore and the number will go up to Rs 1.40 lakh crore over the next two years."If we monetise it for the next 15 years, we will have Rs 12 lakh crore. New toll will add more money to our coffers,” the minister said, quoted by PTI. On raising domestic funds, Gadkari said he had done it without relying on foreign countries. “I am not accepting money from foreign countries like Canada or the US. I will build roads from the money raised from the poor people of the country,” he said, noting that the bond share price had risen from Rs 100 to Rs 160, with investors getting returns of nearly 18–20%.