Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday termed hydrogen as "futuristic" fuel and said Madhya Pradesh will become the top state in green hydrogen production like it is in the field of agriculture under the BJP rule.
Addressing a public meeting while flagging off Jan Ashirward Yatra in Khandwa, Gadkari congratulated Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in view of the state holding the top position in the country in agriculture production for seven times on the trot.
The BJP has planned yatras to reach out to people ahead of assembly elections, due later this year.
The state is producing thermal, hydro, wind and solar power in a major way in the country. An electrolyser can be set up near the solar power facility to produce green hydrogen from water and I am confident that like agriculture, Madhya Pradesh will remain top in producing green hydrogen in the country which is futuristic fuel, he said.
The Minister of Road Transport & Highways also said farmers would not just remain annadatas (food grain producers) but would become urjadatas (energy producers) in a big way.
"Rs 16 lakh crore the country is spending on importing fuel would go to farmers' fields as they would produce green fuel in a major way," he added.
Gadkari said he uses a hydrogen-powered car in Delhi and claimed hydrogen would also be used in industries and the automobile sector in a big way by replacing coal and oil.
The BJP veteran said CM Chouhan has "transformed Madhya Pradesh from a BIMARU (laggard) state into a developing state.
"This became possible because Chouhan increased the irrigation potential and agriculture production in the state manifold. It was just a trailer, the real picture (of development) will come now, he added.
For the first time in history, bio-fuel produced by farmers was being used in the aviation and automobile sectors, which is turning farmers into energy producers, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union minister said.
Gadkari said villages should also be developed on the lines of smart cities.
He said Chouhan has created a record in the country by providing 44 lakh houses under the PM Awas Yojna to beneficiaries.
"The number of medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh was just five-six earlier, but during the current BJP rule their number has gone up to more than 30," Gadkari said.
He said people in the country are getting a 24-hour power supply, good quality roads and a drinking water facility under the leadership of PM Modi.
In a veiled swipe at Congress, Gadkari said before 2003, the condition of roads in Madhya Pradesh was very bad, but now a good network of roads exists in the state.
"The credit goes to the people of MP as they have elected BJP and given us a chance to serve them," Gadkari said.
He urged people to bless the BJP government yet again in the upcoming assembly elections for making Madhya Pradesh a golden state, especially for the welfare of villages, poor, deprived sections and farmers.
Chouhan and Madhya Pradesh BJP president VD Sharma also spoke on the occasion.
Gadkari also sanctioned a ring road project for Khandwa and ordered a feasibility study of another one as demanded by local MP Gyaneshwar Patil.
The road transport minister informed that the Indore-Hyderabad Road worth Rs 18,000 crore is being constructed, besides the Delhi-Mumbai highway. He said the travel time between Indore to Omkareshwar will be reduced from three hours to one hour and that of Burhanpur to Indore to two hours from five after the construction of new roads.
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