Fadnavis directed officials to prepare the detailed project reports, seek environment and other clearances in the next six months and complete works by 2019.
The first meeting of the state cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure, which was chaired by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, saw projects worth over Rs 52,000 crore being approved in-principle. Fadnavis directed officials to prepare the detailed project reports, seek environment and other clearances in the next six months and complete works by 2019. Public works (public undertakings) minister Eknath Shinde said that the Mumbai-Pune Expressway capacity augmentation would reduce accidents and traffic congestion. The Rs 3,400-crore project will see two new tunnels of 8 kms and two viaducts with a total length of 3 kms being constructed.<!– Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –> Shinde added that the state was also looking at a “land pooling model” to speed up work on the 800-km Mumbai- Nagpur Communication Super Expressway. This model will see a portion of developed lands being returned to farmers, and help overcome resistance for land acquisition as “it will also benefit farmers”. This Expressway will pass through areas, which have a developmental backlog and touch cities in North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha. It is envisaged to take development beyond the traditional ‘Golden Corridor’ of Mumbai, Pune and Nashik and link regional headquarters like Nagpur, Amravati and Aurangabad with Mumbai. Some other projects which were approved include the 4-km elevated road (Rs800 crore) on the Ghodbunder Road from Gaimukh to beyond the forest area. The construction of a third bridge on the Thane creek at Vashi (Rs 800 crore), an underground tunnel between Thane and Borivali, an elevated road at Bhiwandi-Kalyan-Shil Phata (Rs 2,600 crore), 27 rail over bridges in Vidarbha (Rs 800 crore) and the four-laning of the Vakan-Pali-Khopoli road (Rs 500 crore). Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) officials said that the east coast water transport project was approved on Monday. It will operate at three nodes – Ferry Wharf, Mandwa and Nerul. The project costs Rs 300 crore. The construction of the terminals will take around 12-14 months, which means the operations will begin in early 2017. CIDCO is expected to float tenders next week while MbPT has split the work into packages. This was the first meeting of the sub-committee since the Devendra Fadnavis led BJP-Shiv Sena state government took charge on October 31, 2014. Some projects like the Mumbai-Pune Expressway capacity augmentation and water transport were struck in coalition politics and red tape during the days of the Congress-NCP government. The MSRDC was controlled by the NCP, which the Congress tried to upstage.
Original article:
Maharashtra approves infrastructure projects worth Rs 52,000 crore
