The proposed expressway between Nagpur and Mumbai will be a “game-changer” for Maharashtra and its Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be finalised by the month-end after which tenders will be floated in October, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The 710km high-speed road corridor, connecting two key cities of the State and costing Rs 46,000 crore, will pass through nearly a dozen districts, most of them spread over backward Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.

The Maharashtra Government will finalise its DPR by the end of this month and float tenders in October, he said. “The project will usher in prosperity, boost agro-based industries, attract globally competitive manufacturing units in Vidarbha and Marathwada, create thousands of job opportunities directly and indirectly for youth and put Maharashtra ahead of other States by at least 20 years in terms of infrastructure and economic growth,” he said.

This Rs 46,000-crore project will be a “game-changer” and also lead to a turnaround in the farm sector and make the dream of sustainable agriculture a reality, he said. Fadnavis was talking to a group of regional editors at State Guest House ‘Sahaydri’ in Mumbai on Monday. He also made a power point presentation on the project on the occasion.

The expressway will start from Nagpur and pass through 30 talukas of Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldana, Jalna, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Nashik and Thane districts. It will have 22 nodes or prosperity hubs where truck terminus, commercial facilities, knowledge city, IT industries, and manufacturing units will come up, Fadnavis said.

Making a departure from conventional approach to acquire land from farmers, the BJP-led Government, for this project, has adopted a participative approach. It has opted for land pooling method by offering cash and developed land annuity-based returns to farmers, thus making them true partners in
prosperity, he said.

The six-lane highway would require 9,000 hectares of land. “So far, the response from farmers, particularly those from dry-land areas, has been excellent,” Fadnavis stated. The land pooling model is being implemented by the Government in Andhra Pradesh for building a new riverfront capital city of Amaravati.

“The Maharashtra Government, in its GR issued on July 5, 2016, has spelt out the details (on land acquisition). There will be no project affected person,” he said. “We will pay farmers, who voluntarily give land for the project, an amount of Rs 20,000-40,000 per acre for a period of 10 years with assured increase on annuity basis. “Moreover, farmers will get back around one-fourth of the area or a developed plot ad-measuring 10,800 sq ft. This is the first time Maharashtra Government will be pooling land
for a project of this gigantic scale.”

PTI