Give jobs to locals; will enact law if necessary: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari Wednesday said locals should get preference in jobs, adding a strong legislation will be enacted for this purpose if needed.

He was speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the permanent campus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Nagpur.

"Bhumiputras (sons of soil) should get employment in the projects here at MIHAN (Multi-modal International Hub Airport)," the Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping said.

Gadkari said at least 1.25 lakh jobs will be created through the development of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) near Mumbai in the next few years.

"I have given directions (to authorities) to ensure that at least 80 per cent of these jobs in the JNPT be given to locals from the coastal Konkan region," he said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, speaking at the event, said during the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government, projects used to commence 10 years after their announcement.

Fadnavis said the ...