Mumbai: In what could be termed as the Shiv Sena’s withdrawal of opposition to the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Highway, the party has demanded that the road be named after party founder late Bal Thackeray.
Sena leader and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday handed over a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding the road be named as ‘Hinduhridaysamrat Shivsenapramukh Balasaheb Thackeray.’
“The Mumbai-Pune Yashavantrao Chavan Expressway was envisioned by Balasaheb Thackeray and it is the example of his contribution and foresight. Sena MLAs and MPs want that he should be honoured. Like the Mumbai-Pune expressway, the second expressway too is destined to be constructed by the alliance government of the BJP and the Sena,” the letter said.
The letter also said the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Highway has the ability to transform the economy of the State. “Considering Bal Thackeray’s contribution to the construction of the State’s first expressway, naming the second after him will be a fitting tribute to his memories,” it said.
The letter is seen as the Sena’s U-turn on its earlier position of opposing the road. Farmers had opposed to give their land for the project.
“When we had met Uddhavji, he had promised us that the Sena will not let the construction of the road go further if farmers are opposed to it. He had even promised to send a team of MLAs to hear our grievances and support us. But none of the party’s MLAs came out in our support,” Baban Harne of Shektari Sangharsh Samiti, which is spearheading the farmers’ protest against the project, said. Mr. Harne said the Sena has backstabbed the farmers and sealed the deal with the Chief Minister through back door. “We will never trust this party again,” he said.
The 700-km expressway will be connected to 24 nodes, which will be developed as Smart Cities. The road will pass through 10 districts and lead to development in 14 others.
Land acquisition is under way in 10 districts and 9,800 hectares have been acquired on a consensus and negotiation-based approach. The State government recently approved the cost escalation of ₹6,000 crore, taking the total cost of the project to ₹55,335 crore.
