Cannot make cycle tracks in Mumbai due to space constraints: Gadkari

He underlined that it is important to encourage the sustainable and healthy habit of cycling

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said it is difficult to make cycle tracks in the financial capital due to space constraints, which make it impossible to widen roads.

Mr. Gadkari, who handles the road transport portfolio, underlined that it is important to encourage the sustainable and healthy habit of cycling.

We can make dedicated tracks in tier-II and tier-III cities, he added.

"Actually, I am supporting your idea (of cycle tracks). But my practical problem is that in the city area, it is very difficult to increase the width of the road. In Mumbai, we cannot make cycle tracks," Mr. Gadkari said during an interactive meeting with institutional investors organised by Philip Capital here on Monday evening.

Without elaborating on it, the minister said there are also "encroachments and political problems" in Mumbai, which make the job of creating dedicated cycle tracks difficult.

The remarks from the minister come amid reports of the most ambitious 40-km cycle track project in Mumbai not taking off, and the existing cycle tracks that are constructed like islands without any planning about continuity finding low patronage.

Mr. Gadkari said he is constructing a cycle track in his home city Nagpur, and added that some of the cities through which national highways are going will also have similar infrastructure soon.