Govt rules out 8-laning of Nagpur-Ratnagiri highway

Nagpur: The state govt on Monday clarified that it has no plans to expand the existing Nagpur-Ratnagiri national highway to 6 or 8 lanes, stating that the road falls under the jurisdiction of the central govt.Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde informed the Maharashtra legislative council that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has not submitted any proposal for widening the highway. He was responding to a starred question raised by MLCs Satej Patil, Abhijit Wanjarri, Sudhakar Adbale and others.
Shinde also told the House that the proposed Shaktipeeth Expressway is an access-controlled highway designed for a different purpose than the existing routes.The Ratnagiri-Nagpur corridor - comprising national highway 166, national highway 52 and national highway 361 - is under the control of NHAI and stretches about 925.7km, Shinde said. Most sections are already four-laned, with land acquired at widths of 60 metres and 45 metres, he said. The total project cost stands at about Rs29,332 crore, said Shinde, adding NHAI has not proposed upgrading the highway to 6 or 8 lanes.However, several MLCs criticised the proposed Shaktipeeth Expressway, alleging that it runs parallel to the existing highway and puts financial burden of nearly Rs1 lakh crore on the state. They also raised concerns about damage to agricultural land, forests and wildlife. The legislators further argued that neither temple committees nor devotees had demanded such a project, noting that key shrines from Paonar in Wardha district to Paratwada in Amravati district are already connected by the current highway and that the route does not witness major traffic congestion.Responding to the concerns, Shinde said the Shaktipeeth Expressway, which will start at Paonar and extend to Sindhudurg-Goa border, is expected to reduce travel time between Nagpur and Goa from around 18 hours to about 8 hours. He added that a detailed project report had been prepared in accordance with Indian Roads Congress (IRC) standards, based on studies of current and projected traffic volumes.Shinde said multiple alignment options were evaluated in consultation with landowners and public representatives. Land acquisition would follow govt norms with fair compensation, and all necessary wildlife clearances have been processed.