Nagpur To Goa In Just 8 Hours, Maharashtra Cabinet Approves ₹20,787 Crore For Mega 'Shaktipeeth Highway' Project

Nagpur: Good news for highway commuters, the Maharashtra Cabinet has green signalled a massive infrastructure project. This mega highway project named Shaktipeeth Highway, officially known as the Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Mahamarg.

Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Highway Project

The highway is expected to be 802.6 km long connecting Pavnar in Wardha district (Vidarbha) to Patradevi in Sindhudurg (near the Goa border). This mega highway project will reduce Nagpur–Goa travel time drastically from 18 hours to just 8 hours.

Mega Nagpur–Goa Highway Project 
This expressway is more than just a road. It's envisioned as a religious and cultural corridor as it connects 18 major pilgrimage sites, including 3 Shaktipeeths (Mahur, Tuljapur, Kolhapur), 2 Jyotirlingas (Aundha Nagnath and Parli Vaijnath). Other spiritual destinations of Maharashtra like Pandharpur, Ambajogai, Akkalkot, and Narsobachi Wadi.

Nagpur–Goa Highway Project Cost 
Maharashtra Cabinet has sanctioned the amount of ₹20,787 crore for land acquisition and planning to Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). Also ₹12,000 crore loan to be funded from HUDCO.

Challenges of Nagpur–Goa Highway Project 
Maharashtra governments' ambitious Nagpur–Goa Highway project faces strong opposition from farmers, especially in Kolhapur and Sangli, over land acquisition concerns. In response, the government has dropped several Kolhapur talukas from the alignment. 

Government has approved only the Wardha–Sangli stretch for now and directed MSRDC to look for alternative routes for the Sangli–Sindhudurg stretch.

Maharashtra governments ambitious expressway project could transform not just Nagpur–Goa connectivity but also boost tourism in the region. This mega highway project also attributes to rural development, and regional economies across Maharashtra and Konkan region.