Following protests, state govt puts Nagpur-Goa E-way on hold
Farmers met with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, leading to the MSRDC halting the 802 km Nagpur–Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway project due to environmental and land concerns.
Mumbai: A day after a delegation, including farmers, met chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis at the Kolhapur airport on Thursday to demand the cancellation of the 802 km Nagpur–Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway, the MSRDC on Friday withdrew the plan to seek environment clearance for the project from Centre.
The delegation from Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Highway Virodhi Kruti Samiti fears that the project will destroy about 27,000 hectares of fertile land in 12 districts of Maharashtra. Many also argue that the expressway’s construction could lead to deforestation and disruption of fragile ecosystems along its proposed route.
MSRDC managing director Anil Gaikwad said, “We have withdrawn the proposal for environmental clearance for Shaktipeeth Expressway from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The project is being opposed by people from all over the state.’’
The MSRDC has also stopped the land acquisition for the project for which collectors were earlier given a nod. “We had only appointed consultants and finalised the alignment of the E-way,” said Gaikwad who did not comment on whether he would be re-submitting the proposal to Centre.
The 802 km greenfield project was to connect Nagpur to Goa via Sindhudurg. In several areas, the people were opposed to land acquisition for the projects and were staging protests. The opposition parties, especially Congress in western Maharashtra, are aggressive in their opposition to this project.
The access control expressway was to connect Nagpur, to Goa, passing through 12 districts in Maharashtra and one district in Goa. The route will connect Pavnar (near Wardha) to Patradevi in Pernem taluka of Goa and will provide access to Hindu pilgrimage sites, including two jyotirlingas. The expressway is expected to reduce travel time between Nagpur and Goa from 21 hours to about 10 hours.
As per 2023 estimates, it was to cost MSRDC ₹84,000 crore and required about 8,100 hectares of private agricultural land. The land acquisition had become an issue in Lok Sabha polls.
The medical education minister Hasan Muhsriff had said that the road passes from 40 villages of Kolhapur and many farmers will be landless and the expressway had to be scrapped. Mushriff has taken up the protest with CM Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
The issue was also raised in the monsoon session of the state legislature and the council was adjourned for one day. Congress MLC Satej Patil along with other legislators demanded that the project be scrapped and questioned the need for it when there is an existing road. The expressway will cover Hindu pilgrimage places such as two Jyotirlingas one in Parli Vaijnath and the second is Aundh Naganath (Nageshwar) in Hingoli district. The Mahur Renu Devi temple, Tuljabhavani in Tuljapur, Vitthal temple of Pandharpur, Mahalaxmi temple of Kolhapur, and temples in Goa
Patil said, “I have been touring the state and there has been opposition in the state including Nanded. It looks like they have kept the project in suspension due to elections. They must announce that they have completely scrapped it.’’