Maharashtra Gives Wing To Project Under ‘PM GatiShakti’ Plan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious project about the country's huge infrastructure development under “PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP)” has been fast-tracked by Maharashtra. One of the six more projects cleared under GatiShakti plan in September this year is a green-field road project in Gujarat and Maharashtra covering Navsari, Nashik and Ahmednagar districts. Getting into action with its team of competent and skilled officers in the War Room, the Maharashtra government is coordinating with the central officials and experts at a fast pace so as to ensure that the Maharashtra part of the project is completed on time. 

The Maharashtra officials are coordinating efficiently with their Gujarat counterparts also on the project. An NHAI official informed that the agency has awarded a contract to prepare a detailed report for the green field stretch between Surat and Ahmednagar via Nashik.  The Maharashtra War Room for Infrastructure Projects is assisting the Central teams in preparation of report and planning. Radheshyam Mopalwar, the 1995 batch IAS officer, is playing a key role in this. Mopalwar’s administrative skills and his command over various components that go into successful completion of expressway projects help the War Room to fast-track the green-field stretch of the PM GatiShakti project. 

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in a recently held meeting reviewed the progress of this project where Mopalwar shared the updates. The state government and the Central government will be relying on Mopalwar once the land acquisition part of the project gets underway. Mopalwar has proved his mettle in similar exercises in the past, particularly when he spearheaded the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg, a major part of which has already been dedicated to the public. Government officials believe that the land acquisition process for the green field stretch under PM GatiShakti will be a complex exercise that will pose challenges. CM Shinde and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis are confident that War Room DG Mopalwar will be able to overcome these challenges. 

In fact, PM Modi is expecting the Maharashtra government to be one of the states where projects under GatiShakti will be completed within a set time frame. The work has already begun in Maharashtra, with War Room discussing and reviewing the project on a daily basis. The Surat-Ahmednagar stretch of the green field project under PM GatiShakti is expected to contribute to the overall socio-economic development of tribal and backward districts such as Navsari, Valsad and Nashik by providing easy and convenient connectivity. The Central government officials say that the stretch will also benefit the tourism sector in the region and will connect aspirational districts such as Osmanabad in Maharashtra. 

With the stretch set to fuel the economy of Maharashtra after completion, the Shinde-Fadnavis government is sparing no effort to ensure that the project sees the light of the day as soon as possible. Fast completion of the initial process such as planning and land acquisition will be true to Maharashtra's reputation so far.   

The government in September had approved six more infrastructure projects worth ?51,700 crore under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP).  The 56th meeting of the Network Planning Group (NPG) that met under PM GatiShakti had cleared six project proposals -- four related to the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) worth ?45,000 crore and two rail ministry projects worth ?6,700 crore, it said. The union cabinet on October 21, 2021 approved the PM GatiShakti NMP, which is executed through a three-layer institutional mechanism – the Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGOS), the Network Planning Group (NPG) and the Technical Support Unit (TSU). The states will also help the Central government in implementation, monitoring and support mechanisms  for providing multi-modal connectivity. 

Mopalwar and other members of the War Room are said to have gathered every detail of the green field stretch of Surat-Ahmednagar. They will be interacting with the central officials on this, and keep updating the NHAI on this. The War Room will give a deep insight into how the stretch could benefit the rural population on the lines of the Samruddhi Mahamarg which was praised also by PM Modi when he had opened its first phase of around 480 kms stretch. 

Since PM GatiShakti National Master Plan is aimed at transforming the nation’s infrastructure, the Central government officials are also said to be studying Maharashtra road connectivity projects such as Samruddhi Mahamarg to understand the nitty-gritty of the stretch which will pass through Maharashtra regions.  It was on October 13, 2021 when PM Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti (PMGS) scheme with the aim to break the inter-ministerial tangles and silos and foster cooperation and integration in the fast-track implementation of projects. The scheme is expected to smooth out the execution of projects across the nation and foster coordination between different ministries engaged with these projects.