Will Rs 80,000-cr road reshape Maharashtra or divide it?
Alka Dhupkar
TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Jul 21, 2025, 19:28 IST IST
Land, faith, and finance collide as Maharashtra pushes a controversial expressway through its most fertile and politically sensitive districts
Barely weeks after the final stretch of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg was inaugurated, the Maharashtra government has set its sights on a new, even more ambitious road project: the Shaktipeeth Expressway .
Pegged at a staggering Rs 80,000 crore, the proposed expressway promises to cut travel time between Nagpur and Goa from 18 hours to just eight. But as the plan advances, it has run into strong resistance from opposition parties, farmers, environmentalists, and even some within the ruling alliance.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
20 minutes ago
- Indian Express
DyCM directs Mumbai Municipal Commissioner to not increase road restoration fee for Ganesh mandaps
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has directed Mumbai Municipal Commissioner, Bhushan Gagrani, to not increase the road restoration fee which is to be charged to public Ganeshotsav mandals for digging concrete roads to erect Ganesh mandaps. As per the new regulations, a fee of Rs15,000 was to be charged for each road excavation for the erection of mandaps. However, the Brihanmumbai Public Ganeshotsav Coordination Committee had demanded the cancellation of this increased fee. Responding to this, Deputy CM Shinde instructed that no hike should be made in the penalty amount. Hence, as per the old rules, only Rs 2,000 will be charged per excavation. He further appealed to Ganesh mandals to avoid digging concrete roads and consider using modern technologies for mandap installation instead. The Deputy CM emphasized that with the widespread concretization of Mumbai's roads, innovative and non-destructive methods should be adopted. The decision was welcomed by the Chairman of the Brihanmumbai Public Ganeshotsav Coordination Committee, Advocate Naresh Dahibhavkar, who expressed public gratitude to Deputy CM Shinde.
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
AKG Centre built on revenue land, Kerala governor seeks vice-chancellor's report
1 2 3 T'puram: AKG Centre, where the CPM state committee office functioned until recently, was built on revenue land in Vanchiyoor village in the state capital, the revenue department said in reply to an RTI application. Since it is revenue (puramboke) land, the department did not receive land tax, the RTI reply stated. Meanwhile, governor Rajendra Arlekar is understood to have sought a report from Kerala University vice-chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal on the alleged encroachment of university land by CPM. The Save University Campaign Committee submitted a memorandum to the governor, seeking urgent steps to reclaim the land, which the CPM allegedly encroached upon for setting up AKG Centre. According to land revenue records, AKG Centre is functioning in 55 cents of revenue land, adjacent to the Kerala University Senate House campus. The Kerala University vice-chancellor is expected to present the land encroachment matter at the next syndicate meeting and submit a report to the governor. It was former chief minister A K Antony who sanctioned 15 cents of land to the CPM for setting up a research centre. Later, the Kerala University syndicate decided to give 15 cents more to CPM. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Brain tumor has left my son feeling miserable; please help! Donate For Health Donate Now Undo However, there are no records available in the district collectorate, taluk office or village office regarding the land allotment. Due to the non-availability of land allotment documents, revenue officials refused to collect land tax from AKG Centre. However, AKG Centre could obtain a Thiruvananthapuram corporation number and it pays Rs 10.5 lakh as property tax. SUCC, in its memorandum to the governor, claimed that AKG Centre was able to obtain a corporation permit using political influence. SUCC alleged that the entire 55 cents of land under the custody of AKG Centre belonged to Kerala University. Although Antony and the university syndicate decided to grant 15 cents each to AKG Centre, the CPM failed to claim the ownership of the land legally. Further, it encroached on more university land. "If the governor fails to take steps to reclaim the land from AKG Centre, SUCC will initiate legal proceedings," said the committee chairman R S Sasikumar. Meanwhile, the vice-chancellor met governor on Thursday and appraised him of the developments in the university.
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
India will remain competitive: Scindia on US tariff impact on telecom equipment exports
Indian telecom equipment exports to the US will remain competitive even after imposition of additional tariffs, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday. According to official data, telecom equipment worth about Rs 85,000 crore have been produced under the PLI scheme, of which equipment worth Rs 16,000 crore have been exported to various countries. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Management Operations Management MBA Product Management healthcare CXO Technology Degree Leadership Project Management Design Thinking Data Analytics Public Policy Artificial Intelligence Data Science Healthcare PGDM Digital Marketing others MCA Others Data Science Finance Cybersecurity Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK GMPBE India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK General Management Programme India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 Months IIM Calcutta CERT-IIMC APSPM India Starts on undefined Get Details "We will remain competitive," Scindia said when asked about the impact of the proposed US tariff on telecom equipment export. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Most Beautiful Female Athletes Right Now Undo He was speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by retailers' body CAIT on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the first cellular call in India. According to government and industry sources, Indian electronics industry has around two weeks' breather from the proposed tariffs due to the pending review of a key section that covers technologies under the ongoing bilateral negotiations. Live Events US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying military equipment and crude oil from Russia. "Section 232, which covers electronics and technology products, is expected to come up for review after two weeks. When the US had imposed basic 10 per cent duty, then also technology products were exempted due to pending review of Section 232. This is the position as of now. We don't know what will (happen) after two weeks," a government source said.
