Samruddhi highway will take Marathwada 20 years ahead: CM Devendra Fadnavis

AURANGABAD: Amidst mounting opposition from farmers’ groups for the proposed Nagpur-Aurangabad-Mumbai Express highway, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the Samruddhi Express highway would alter the face of Marathwada, along with the upcoming dry port and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
Strongly advocating the ambitious road project, the CM also categorically said it would put Marathwada 20 years ahead on the path of development.“Aurangabad and Jalna along with other areas of Marathwada still do not have advantage of location despite having immense potential for industrial and other development. The Samruddhi Express highway will do away this disadvantage,” he said while the inaugurating industrial expo organised by Marathwada Association of Small Scale Industries and Agriculture (MASSIA) here on Thursday.
Fadnavis said the Samruddhi Express highway would offer superior road-connectivity to Aurangabad with Mumbai and Nagpur with cutting down travelling time to around five to seven hours.
The Expressway will have underground passages for pipelines of natural gas and petrochemicals. The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has already swung into action for facilitating this and it would be another major added advantage for the road project, he said.
The Dry Port coming up at Jalna is a milestone project for the region and so is the DMIC passing through Marathwada. These two coupled with Samruddhi Express highway would alter the fate of Marathwada, he said.
It may be noted that Maharashtra CM had already announced that the first phase of Samruddhi Express highway would be completed by 2019 and the project will be fully ready by December 2020. The 793km Expressway will be passing through 14 districts. It has been divided into five stretches with the third stretch meant for Marathwada. It starts from Jalna-Buldhana district border and goes up to Vaijapur through Jalna and Aurangabad districts, with a length of 165km.
Aurangabad, Nashik and few other parts of the state have already started witnessing protests by farmers opposing the ambitious road project.
Farmers’ leader Jayaji Suryawanshi, who has been spearheading the agitation against Samruddhi Express highway, described the proposed road project as boon for industries, but bane for peasant community.
“The rich agricultural soil will be snatched from farmers in the name of industrial development. The compensation offered towards acquired land is also illogical. The road project will infuse new life into industries but at the same time would take heavy toll on farmers,” he said.