Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS) The Maharashtra cabinet infrastructure committee, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Wednesday approved the 204-km-long four-lane cement concrete highway from Nagpur to Chandrapur.
He also gave instructions to submit a proposal for the construction of a highway between Chandrapur and Mul.
He said that a four-lane cement highway with a length of 204 kilometres, connecting the road to Chandrapur city, 11 kilometres, will cost Rs 2353.39 crore, including land acquisition.
For the 162 km Nagpur to Gondia four-lane expressway, land acquisition, joint calculation and licensing process are underway. The estimated cost is Rs 18,539 crore. The 94 km Bhandara to Gadchiroli four-lane expressway is estimated to cost Rs 10,298 crore. Land acquisition, joint calculation and the process of obtaining permits have begun, he stated.
CM Fadnavis said that while constructing any road in the future, an ‘ecosystem’ of development should be created in the adjoining area.
He directed to plan for this by acquiring land in advance. Since the Nagpur-Chandpur highway is being constructed up to Navegaon More, he also suggested that the length of this highway should be extended up to the Surjagad iron project in Gadchiroli.
“There should be a time limit while completing development projects. If the project is delayed, the state is unnecessarily burdened financially due to the cost increase. Currently, work on infrastructure projects worth Rs 10 lakh crore is underway in the state. The pace of progress of these works should not be allowed to slow down anywhere. After the completion of these works, the economy will gain momentum. Therefore, all these works should be completed within the planned and prescribed time limit,” said the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister directed the administration that while taking up infrastructure works in the state in future, it should be brought to the Gatishakti portal first, and the project work should not be started without taking it to the Gatishakti portal.
Giving instructions to issue a government decision for this, he said, while taking up the work of irrigation projects, planning should be done from the beginning, looking at the future problems. Land acquisition for these projects should be done in advance, and work should be started later.
“The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation should expand and create different departments for easy implementation of projects. To speed up infrastructure projects, expert manpower in the relevant fields should be recruited from external sources. The ID given to infrastructure projects will curb irregularities in payments,” he noted.
The Chief Minister insisted that the Public Works and Water Supply Departments should implement a time-bound programme as per the obligation to pay old dues.
He further directed the development of a system with the help of modern technology to ensure that the departments pay only for the work done and to check the payments. On increasing public amenities on Samruddhi Highway, CM Fadnavis said toilets are being set up at 16 places. There should also be petrol pumps and food malls.
“The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation should appoint a consultant. At least four out of the 16 places on the highway, MSRDC should set up centres for tourism purposes. The development process should be carried out with the funds of investors who are interested in raising funds for infrastructure projects in the state. Arrangements should be made to ensure that they get a fixed remuneration by taking their participation in further development. A new model of fundraising should be developed,” he added.
–IANS
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