Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan Wednesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to declare the upcoming Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) a national project and allocate sufficient funds for it.
Chavan made the plea during a meeting with the prime minister at the latter's 7 Race Course Road residence in the capital Wednesday while discussing the state's mega infrastructure projects which are in various stages of development.
Chavan urged Singh to provide substantial central assistance to the MTHL, considered the state's trophy infrastructure project.
The MTHL sealink will connect Mumbai island with the mainland at Raigad and is estimated to cost Rs.9,630 crore.
Once completed, the 22-km sealink will provide a seamless and speedy link between Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Goa and the rest of South India.
It will be the country's second sealink after the Rajiv Gandhi Bandra-Worli Sealink in Mumbai.
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Chavan said that following approval from the project-affected people, the proposed new international airport for Mumbai coming up in Navi Mumbai on the mainland, will soon take off.
While the affected people will be given 22.5 percent of the developed land, with an average FSI of 2, considered the highest for any project in the state so far, farmers will also get adequate compensation for land acquisition.
The acquired land would be the site for a modern airport with amenities matching the best in the world and a commercial centre Pushpak Nagar coming up in its vicinity.
The Maharashtra delegation also informed the prime minister of the new major infrastructure projects like the Churchgate-Virar Elevated Suburban Rail Corridor, a new international airport for Pune and upgradation of Nagpur airport, Metrorail Corridor-III between Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ, the shifting of the Doppler Radar from Colaba to another place in Mumbai, the issue of salt pan lands and the pending Indu Mills transfer for a proposed memorial for Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Later, the chief minister met Union Textiles Minister K.S. Rao and Union Shipping and Transport Minister G.K. Vasan.