Maharashtra finance minister Devendra Fadnavis presented the first budget of the newly formed Eknath Shinde-led government. Known to give emphasis to infrastructure development, the deputy chief minister allocated Rs 53,058.55 crore in the new budget for various projects under infrastructure development with substantial capital investment head, which he has called the third amrut out of five others in his speech document.
In this budget, he has proposed new highways to connect Maharashtra with other states, extension and expansion of old highways to connect more cities with big city centres of the state and new inland water routes to connect small towns to Mumbai. With the help of the central government, the state is also planning to join small towns and cities via a rail route to boost local businesses.
“As the country moves towards a $5-trillion economy, Maharashtra, too, has decided to contribute its share of $1 trillion and to boost the state’s share from 14.2 percent to 20 percent in the national gross domestic product. Our emphasis is to boost infrastructure, which will result in comprehensive development of the state,” Fadnavis said in his budget speech.
Fadnavis also proposed a new mega highway, which will be called Maharashtra Shaktipeeth expressway. This will connect the two distant ends of the state – Vidarbha and Konkan. The feasibility report of this 760-km expressway is being prepared and the name, shaktipeeth, is self-explanatory as the highway will connect prominent temples Mahur, Tuljapur, Kolhapur and Ambajogai. This expressway will further connect two jyotirlinga Aundha Nagnath and Parli Vaijnath; Takhat Sachkhand Hazur Sahib at Nanded; Maharashtra’s reigning deity Vitthal Rakhumai at Pandharpur; Karanja Lad; Akkalkot; Gangapur; Narsobachi Wadi; and Audumbar.
This highway – passing through six districts of Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed, Latur and Dharashiv – will give strong support to the Marathwada region’s economy. The development of Wardha, Yavatmal, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts will also get a boost. The estimated cost of this project is Rs 86,300 crore.
To reduce traffic congestion in Pune, the state government has allocated Rs 27,000 crore to build a ring road. Considering the need for a multimodal corridor, which can connect several highways, ports, international airports and freight corridors, Fadnavis proposed a 126-km corridor from Virar to Alibaug. It will include bus rapid transit, metro rail, water supply, gas and sewage lines. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 40,000 crore and the work of preparing a detailed project report and financial plan is in progress.
New metro projects have also been proposed to be taken up and the circular metro rail project of Thane city, Nashik metro neo-rail project, Pimpri-Chinchwad to Nigdi corridor of Pune Metro and Swargate to Katraj metro project have been sent for approval of the central government. After receiving the approval, the work on these projects will begin.
In rural and underdeveloped areas of the state, the government intends to speed up the work on railway projects by adopting a policy of giving a 50 percent state share, which was discontinued earlier. Ahmednagar-Beed-Parli Vaijnath, Wardha-Yavatmal-Nanded, Wadsa-Desaiganj-Gadchiroli, and Nagpur-Nagbhid projects are in various stages and the central government has approved the new Kalyan-Murbad railway line.
To boost tourism and connectivity to pilgrimage centres like Shirdi, the state government is planning to build a new passenger terminal at Shirdi airport at a cost of Rs 527 crore. Considering passenger convenience in Mumbai, Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Thane, the state government is developing a 337-km metro network and a 46-km stretch has been opened for traffic. Another 50-km stretch will be operational in 2023-24.
The new metro projects being taken up in Mumbai are: Mumbai Metro line 10 Gaimukh to Shivaji Chowk, Mira Road, total length 9.2 km and estimated cost Rs 4,476 crore; Mumbai Metro line 11 Wadala to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, total length 12.77 km and an estimated cost of Rs 8,739 crore; Metro line 12 Kalyan to Taloja, total length 20.75 km and estimated cost Rs 5,865 crore. The estimated completion dates of these projects were not announced in the budget.
To connect small towns like Thane and Vasai to Mumbai via waterways, the state government has proposed a project worth Rs 424 crore. A project with an estimated cost of Rs 162.20 crore has been approved for the construction of a jetty and related facilities for passenger water transport at Radio Club near Gateway of India. This will facilitate passenger transport from South Mumbai to Kalyan, Dombivli, Thane, Vasai Creek and Navi Mumbai.
Fadnavis has made it clear that along with agricultural development, infrastructure development is the need of the hour. This will help the state generate more employment for the youth and can attract more investments for further sustainable growth.
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