The new Delhi-Mumbai Expressway passes through backward areas to give priority to the development of socially, economically and educationally backward districts, Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said here on Sunday.

The minister was addressing the inauguration ceremony of the first phase of the highway in Dausa.

He also said the government is making every effort to take the road infrastructure of the country to a level at par with America by the end of 2024. "We will try to make India's highways at par with America's," Gadkari said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has talked about making India self-reliant and especially the infrastructure of international standards, which he has repeatedly put in front of us as a goal. We believe that before the end of 2024, under the guidance of the prime minister, we will try our best to make India's road infrastructure at par with America," the Union minister said.

"It was the dream of Prime Minister Modi that development of socially, economically and educationally backward districts are given priority," he added.

Gadkari said he has identified around 500 blocks that are socially, economically, and educationally backward, and so, this highway is passing through backward areas and becoming a growth engine for these areas.

An electric cable will be laid between Jaipur and Delhi, and e-trucks and e-buses will be able to ply on this highway, he said.

"We are also making 670 roadside facilities in the state along this highway which will have handicrafts and food outlets... Under the PM's leadership, India's road infrastructure will improve and we will become self-reliant and a super economic power," Gadkari added.

Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the 246-km Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on Sunday.

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