Maharashtra cabinet gives nod for multi-lane highway between Pune-Shirur

Mumbai, Nov 18 (PTI) The infrastructure committee of the Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to construct a multi-lane highway connecting Pune with Shirur besides greenlighting two highway projects in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.

The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, said an official release.

The 53.4-km Pune-Shirur national highway project will include a four-lane road and six-lane elevated expressway.

The committee also approved two six-lane highway projects in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district -- a 32.8-km stretch from Shendra Industrial Estate to Bidkin Industrial Estate, and a 26-km road from Bidkin to Dhoregaon, connecting to the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Pune highway.

Additionally, the meeting gave in-principle approval to a new greenfield road connecting Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna DMIC Node at Karmad to the Samruddhi Expressway via Bidkin.

Fadnavis also directed officials to urgently repair the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Ahilyanagar road, the release stated.

"The Pune-Shirur highway work should be completed within three years. There should be no delay," the chief minister was quoted as saying.

The Pune-Shirur stretch has heavy vehicular traffic as there are several industrial estates along the road, and the work should start immediately considering the future traffic growth, Fadnavis said.

Similarly, the land acquisition for the Shendra-Bidkin and Bidkin-Dhoregaon stretches should begin urgently, he instructed.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, Revenue Minister Chandrasekhar Bawankule, Public Works Minister Shivendrasinh Raje Bhosale, and Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar.

An elevated 7.4-km corridor will be constructed on the Pune-Shirur highway with coordination between the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to accommodate both road and metro infrastructure, the release said. PTI MR KRK