State announces new metro line for Pune, extension of Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway

The state government announced an extension of the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway (Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg) till Bhandara-Gondia and Gadchiroli, which lies south east of Nagpur

Mumbai Maharashtra government allocated ₹27,517 crore for the development of infrastructure, road and transportation projects in the state.

The work on the 715km Revas-Reddy coastal highway got a push as the tender for four creek bridges, estimated to cost ₹897.7 crore, has been floated, the minister said (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

The state government announced an extension of the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway (Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg) till Bhandara-Gondia and Gadchiroli, which lies east and south east of Nagpur. It also gave a push to key road connectivity projects including Revas-Reddy Coastal Road in Konkan region and Pune Ring road project, which is aimed to reduce congestion in and around Pune city.

“Hinduhrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Highway will be extended from Nagpur to Bhandara-Gondia and Nagpur to Gadchiroli,” said finance minister Ajit Pawar and added that 77% of the work on the Expressway is already complete. The proposed extension is the second one on the 701-km Expressway after the Jalna-Nanded arm of the Expressway was proposed last year.

The work on the 715km Revas-Reddy coastal highway got a push as the tender for four creek bridges, estimated to cost ₹897.7 crore, has been floated, the minister said. The bridge includes a two-km connector on Dharamtar creek connecting Rewas and Karanja on this highway.

“An outlay of ₹500 crore is proposed for the acquisition of about 1,100 hectares of land for the work of this coastal highway,” the minister said. The highway is expected to attract tourists in the region and provide additional road connectivity between Mumbai and Konkan region besides the National Highway. The state government has also allocated ₹1,500 crore for acquisition of 1,900 hectares of land for the Pune Ring Road project.

The state budget also announced a new metro line in Pune connecting Rajiv Gandhi IT Park in Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar. The 23km corridor will be the city’s third metro line, which is undertaken by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority. The estimated cost of the project is ₹8,313 crore.

The minister also proposed a freight terminal and night facilities at Shirdi airport and the government has allocated ₹150 crore towards it. Shirdi airport currently does not have night flights and the allocations will help build infrastructure to get clearance from the civil aviation ministry for night flights.

In a bid to increase air connectivity in the state, the state has already announced an airport at Ratnagiri. It is now considering an airport at Gadchiroli. The state has now given a push to construction of Ratnagiri airport by giving it an allocation for land acquisition. While work towards building a new terminal, night landing facility and extension of runway at Amravati airport will start.

For rail connectivity, the state is following up with the Centre for the Mumbai-Jalna-Nanded-Hyderabad bullet train project. Meanwhile, a proposal is under consideration to provide state share for Jalna-Jalgaon, Kalyan- Murbad-Malshej, Panvel-Virar railway line projects, the minister said.

The state government is expected to upgrade 4,979 km of roads under Hybrid Annuity Model, while work on 3,675 km road length out of 8,654 km has been completed. The budget has made an outlay of ₹15,673 crore for road projects for the year 2022-23.