'Only 7% of total private land acquired for Samruddhi project'

The Maharashtra government has so far acquired only seven per cent or 605 hectares of private land out of the total requirement for the ambitious Samruddhi Corridor or super communication expressway, a pet project of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The government needs 9364.73 hectares of land, out of which 8531.50 hectares is a private land, for the project which envisages constructing a 700-km expressway connecting Mumbai with Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra. The Rs 46,000 crore project also proposes the development of various nodes along the expressway.

The project is executed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
 

"Out of the total requirement, only 605 hectares of land is acquired so far," state PWD (Public Undertakings) Minister Eknath Shinde told reporters.

When asked about slow pace of land acquisition, the minister said the procedure is complicated and time-consuming.

"We have received consent from farmers for acquiring 2,750 hectares of land," he said, adding that the entire acquisition process will be completed by December this year.

Out of the total required land, the state government and Forest department own 833.23 hectares.

Responding to a query on the protests in the past against the collection of toll or road tax by private players, Shinde said the state government has adopted a new policy of charging toll based on the distance travelled by vehicles.

He clarified that the proposed Samruddhi Corridor will not have toll booths, but they will be located on the arterial roads connecting the main corridor.

"The idea behind such design is to avoid slowing down of vehicle speed. The vehicles will have to pay the toll for the distance they have travelled than a flat amount being charged at rest of the toll booths currently.

"If a vehicle enters the Samruddhi corridor somewhere midway, we will issue a receipt from the starting point. At the exit point, the total distance covered by the vehicle will be calculated and amount will be charged accordingly," he explained.

The government claims that the travel time between Nagpur and Mumbai will come down to just six hours compared to 13-14 hours required currently, after completion of the project.