Maharashtra government requests Defence Ministry to declare Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway as Defence industry corridor

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that the state government has requested the Defence Ministry to declare Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway as Defence industry corridor. He also announced that the contract for the expansion of the Nagpur airport will be awarded within a month.

Addressing a gathering of Indian and French business delegates at Indo-French Conclave, CM Fadnavis said: 

"Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway will be one of the most vibrant and economically viable corridors in India, on the lines of corridors in Seoul and Busan (in South Korea). I have also requested the Defence Minister to declare Samruddhi Expressway as a Defence industry corridor," he said.

The Union government is selecting certain areas for encouraging Defence manufacturing and Maharashtra hopes to turn the Vidarbha region (through which the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway will pass) as a Defence industry hub, the chief minister said.

"We have already started the work on this 700-km greenfield road, and hopefully it will be completed in next two years. It is not a mere road but an economic corridor which will connect the industry in Vidarbha with JNPT Port in Mumbai, Fadnavis said.

Reducing the duration of Nagpur-Mumbai journey to six hours, it will open up entire Vidarbha for business and industry, he said.

On the much-awaited expansion of the Nagpur airport, he said the contract will be hopefully awarded within a month.

"We want to make Nagpur airport better than Mumbai airport with a dedicated airstrip for cargo which will be a big advantage for logistics," the chief minister concluded. 

Read: Devendra Fadnavis: Maharashtra Water Scheme Jalyukta Shivar '100% Successful'

Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis repudiated the opposition's allegations that 'Jalyukta Shivar', his government's flagship water conservation program, has "failed" after a drought-like situation gripped parts of the state.

Mr. Fadnavis, who completed four years in office October 31, stressed the scheme was "100 percent successful" and also accused the opposition parties of "politicizing" the issue.

The chief minister averred the program aims at creating structures to store rainwater through harvesting and not letting it percolate in the soil. In the wake of deficit rainfall in the state (77 percent of the annual average), groundwater extraction was up by 27 percent this season over last year in the state, resulting in depleting level subsurface, he argued.

"And when you extract water, the groundwater level is going to fall. It will replenish when it rains next year," he had said, while interacting with a select group of journalists at his official residence `Varsha' in Mumbai late night on October 29.

(With inputs from PTI)