Won’t impose projects on people Shaktipeeth E-way’s realignment under consideration: CM Shinde

PTI, Jun 21, 2024, 6:21 PM IST

Two days after the land acquisition process for the proposed Shaktipeeth Expressway was halted in the wake of protests, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said his government was considering the possibility of realigning the project.
Projects will not be imposed on the people and also will not be implemented without taking them into confidence, he said.
The proposed 802-km-long Shaktipeeth Expressway will connect Pavnar in Wardha district (in the Vidarbha region) to Patradevi in the coastal Sindhudurg (in Konkan). The expressway will pass through 12 districts before entering neighbouring Goa.
In a statement, Shinde said his government will take people into confidence before going ahead with the project.
His remarks come against the backdrop of protests against the project in different parts of the state.
“We will not impose any project on the people. The (Nagpur-Mumbai) Samruddhi Expressway was a gamechanger project which was completed taking all stakeholders into confidence,” he said.
“The government will consider realigning the Shaktipeeth Expressway at places where people are against it. We will not implement any project without taking people into confidence,” he said.
On June 19, the state government decided to put on hold the land acquisition process for the expressway project.
State minister Dada Bhuse, who is chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), had said that land acquisition will be done for the project after talking to all farmers in every district and understanding their problems before acquiring their land.
Land acquisition will not be done until and unless farmers are satisfied, he said.
At present, a Government Resolution (GR) has been issued for land acquisition by the collectors of the districts from where the project will pass. The government has received several representations against land acquisition.