New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath Thursday said his new portfolio was a challenge and he did not look at it like a demotion from his previous post as in-charge of road transport and highways.
‘There is no question of profile. Whatever ministry you get, you have to work hard… (and) engage with the people, which I am going to do,’ Nath told reporters, answering queries if the new responsibility was a step down for him.
He asserted that when he took over in the road transport and highways ministry, it had also not been a high-profile portfolio. ‘I created the momentum (there) and I will do the same here,’ he said.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made some ‘minor’ changes in his ministerial pack in which three new ministers of state were inducted, three promoted to cabinet rank and some major portfolios changed hands.
On his new job, Nath said infrastructure will be a ‘big challenge’. ‘One of my main priorities would be (to) revamp urban transportation,’ he said.
Speaking about one of the success stories in this sector, he referred to the Delhi Metro. ‘By 2017, Delhi will have 415 km of metro, larger than London metro,’ he said.
‘The biggest challenges are to conceptualise and create a new vision. It means working with civil society, people… India having emerged, we should have world-class cities,’ Nath added.
To a query if the reshuffle was a message to discourage crony capitalism, the minister told a TV channel: ‘I really don’t know. I don’t think that you interpreted correctly.’
