Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said that a new highway connecting Nagpur to Goa, on the lines of his dream project Samruddhi super expressway, is being explored. He also stated that Samruddhi expressway will be the new economic corridor of India and change the face of Vidarbha.
Speaking at the launch of National Real Estate Development Council’s (NAREDCO) Vidarbha chapter, the Southwest Nagpur MLA said that the Shinde-BJp government has plans of building Nagpur to Hyderabad and Nagpur to Delhi expressways with the help of Union minister Nitin Gadkari.
Quoting CM Eknath Shinde, Fadnavis said that he aimed to build 5,000km of access control expressways in Maharashtra.
“We are exploring Nagpur-Goa alignment that would pass through parts of Vidarbha, Marathwada and Western Maharashtra, if we want to develop these parts as logistic hubs. The idea is still at the nascent stage,” he told.
According to the Dy CM, Nagpur and other cities in the region are receiving big investments. “Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the central government is providing funds to the cities for infrastructure development. Once logistic business starts in Vidarbha, connectivity will have to be improved. Our government wants to build the roads that would bring any destination in the state within distance of eight to nine hours.”
Adding that their government would not sit on files, Fadnavis said that he and the CM both want to play a 20-20 match as they have only two years left. “We believe in immediately clearing the files and taking positive decisions. We will try to solve all problems in a quick time,” he said.
Stating that Vidarbha’s real estate would gain in a big way from the Samruddhi expressway, the deputy CM said that with logistics and warehousing becoming the next big thing, it would help in India’s economic growth story. “Expressways like the Samruddhi open up vistas of real estate development, including townships, as also ‘sunrise sectors’ like logistics and data centres. The earlier BJP government in the state had offered sops for three years for the real estate in Nagpur. We will extend them for another three years,” he added.
Calling on the developers to focus on tier-II cities like Nagpur, Amravati and Wardha, he said that they should think of providing affordable and premium housing as these cities would need big infrastructure in future.
NAREDCO vice-chairman Niranjan Hiranandani said that Vidarbha was poised for economic growth, with real estate being its driver. He pointed out that various issues relating to real estate faced different challenges leading to delays, which needed resolution.
Terming tier-II and III cities as the next frontier which would drive economic growth, Hiranandani appreciated Fadnavis’s role in Maharashtra’s development. He specifically mentioned how the youngest mayor of Nagpur had done yeoman’s service during his tenure as CM and hoped that he would lead the state’s economic growth.
