Mumbai: NCP(SP) working president Supriya Sule on Thursday asked the Maharashtra government to reconsider the proposed Rs 86,300 crore Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Express project, stressing that it would burden the “already depleted” state exchequer. Addressing a press conference, the Lok Sabha MP from Baramati in Pune district questioned the need for a loan for the high-speed carriageway. The state cabinet on Tuesday cleared the 802-km-long Shaktipeeth Expressway project that will link Pavnar in Wardha district with Patradevi on the Maharashtra-Goa border in Sindhudurg district and cut the travel time between Nagpur and Goa from the current 18 hours to eight hours, officials have said. The cabinet has also approved the allocation of Rs 20,787 crore for the expressway, which will be implemented by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). Of the required amount, HUDCO has sanctioned a loan of Rs 12,000 crore for the acquisition of nearly 7,500 hectares of land, officials said. Sule said people are opposing the expressway. They feel there is no need for a new road as the existing corridor can be upgraded, she said.
Elections will come and go, but the state’s financial condition will take years to stabilise. It will be a loss of the hardworking Marathi people, said the NCP (SP) leader. After last year’s Lok Sabha and assembly polls, the upcoming local body elections are expected to be another high-stakes contest in Maharashtra. “The (state) finance ministry has objections to taking loans, and farmers don’t want to sell their land. If 22 per cent of the state’s budget goes towards loan repayment, how will development happen in education, health and other sectors,” she asked, adding that the state's exchequer is already "depleted". According to officials, the expressway aims to connect key pilgrimage sites such as Mahur, Tuljapur, Kolhapur and Pandharpur in addition to prominent spiritual and historical places like Ambajogai, two ‘Jyotirlings’ of Aundha Nagnath and Parli Vaijnath; Karanja-Lad, Akkalkot, Audumber and Narsobachi Wadi.