With an eye on the Rajasthan Assembly elections slated for next year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a dig at the previous Congress-led government for stalled projects, while inaugurating highway projects worth over ₹5,610 crore.

Among the 12 projects inaugurated included a long-pending project of constructing a 1.4 km six-lane cable-stayed bridge across the Chambal river in Kota, which was sanctioned in 2006. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for 11 road projects worth ₹9,490 crore in Rajasthan.

“It took 11 years and the budget was not even ₹300 crore,” Mr. Modi said, referring to the Chambal bridge project. “A small bridge that can be constructed in 1-1.5 years even at nominal pace took 11 years to complete and today, in three years after coming to power, we have inaugurated projects worth ₹5,600 crore. This shows the difference between governments.”

“Our focus is on timely completion. We will complete projects we begin,” Mr. Modi said, while addressing his first public rally in Rajasthan in two years to a gathering of around 50,000 people here.

Gadkari’s charge

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the project had been stuck due to the previous government’s inefficiency and after the under-construction bridge collapsed in 2009 killing at least 30 workers, “people had lost hope about the project.”

“This project holds great significance as the construction of the bridge will mark the completion of the East-West corridor,” he said, adding that national highway projects worth ₹2 lakh crore were lined up for Rajasthan in the next five years. He said the length of national highway in Rajasthan had doubled from 7,498 km in 2014 to 14,465 km till date and the number of national highways had gone up from 35 to 85 during this period.

Mr. Modi said the upcoming road projects worth over ₹9,000 crore would boost tourism, help farmers and open up economic opportunities for the local population.