The state of Maharashtra has been implementing various road infrastructural projects across the state. Prominent among them is the 701-km-long Nagpur Mumbai Super Communication Expressway, also known as Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg (MSM). It will connect 10 districts, 26 talukas and 392 villages and is proposed to reduce the current travel time between Nagpur and Mumbai of 16 hours to eight hours.
The Expressway will also connect the regions of Vidarbha, Marathwada and North Maharashtra to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) for speedy movement of farm produce, raw materials and finished products. This will help farmers and manufacturers get access to JNPT for import-export of the goods and services.
Regional Imbalance
The state of Maharashtra has been one of the most developing and progressed states in the country. Be it industrial, infrastructural or socio-economic development, the state has always been at the top. But when it comes to regional development, the state has been witness to gross imbalance.
The regions such as Vidarbha and Marathwada have always been at the receiving end compared to Western Maharashtra considering all-round development of the state. When it comes to power generation, almost 60% of power supplied to the state is generated in Vidarbha. Availability of ample water, mineral resources and skilled labour makes this region one of the most developing ones.
Despite being one of the major producing regions of the state, Vidarbha has to experience disparity in power distribution as it has to undergo frequent load shedding and power deficit. Majority of power generated in the region is supplied to other parts of the state and the people from Vidarbha stay neglected as far as industrial development is concerned. The region is rich in minerals, coal, forests and mountains but remain underdeveloped due to lack of political will.
The region has agricultural economy, but always remain neglected and has been witness to increasing number of farmers’ suicides due to infertility of land, lack of resources, and lack of new agricultural technologies. According to Planning Commission, economic injustice was meted out to Vidarbha while its resources were used for rest of Maharashtra.
Considering all these issues, a proposal to construct a super communication expressway connecting Mumbai and Nagpur, was tabled before the state legislature by the Chief Minister Mr. Devendra Fadnavis on July 31, 2015. The proposal came after the Chief Minister’s visit to Germany where he saw Autobahn, the federal controlled-access highway system. On getting clearance from the state legislature, the work to construct the expressway got momentum and the responsibility of the entire project was entrusted upon Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
Rationale
The project will help boost state prosper through a holistic process that integrates road connectivity with sustainable rural development through agri-business ecosystem and multidimensional sub-projects. This process, in turn, will help generate employment, fuel growth in agriculture and related activities, promote eco-tourism, lay foundation for robust infrastructure and contain rural migration for overall development of the state.
The expressway is a Greenfield project that will have access control while its design and alignment has been prepared as per International Road Congress (IRC) standards. The alignment was done by leading consulting firm Ernst and Young after conducting a feasibility study. Following that, the state government appointed one consultant each for Nagpur, Amravati, Aurangabad, Nashik and Konkan regions who prepared the final alignment of the Expressway.
In an effort to promote farm-based activities, the state government will also set up agro processing units, food processing units, fruit processing units, warehouses, dry ports and other amenities along the entire stretch. For this, it followed the process of acquiring land by negotiating with the farmers for direct purchase.
In Partnership
Farmers or landholders are the major stakeholders in the mega project. They were taken into confidence right from the beginning and informed about features of the project in details by holding regular meetings wherein their doubts were cleared and objections considered. The farmers were also being informed about benefits of the project, value of the land to be paid and other details.
Having Greenfield alignment, the NMSCEW will be designed for speed of 150 kmph. The right of way (ROW) will be 120 m in non-forest area and 90 m in forest area. With a central median of 15m, the NMSCEW will be of 6 lanes (2X3) carriageway with 3m. It will also have paved shoulder of 2m apart from earthen shoulder.
Underpasses for wildlife and cattle crossing are proposed adequately as also flyover/interchanges at major road crossings. The NMSCEW will also have vehicular underpasses (VUPs) and pedestrian underpasses (PUPs) at every village/town and alignment will avoid passing through major town/city.
Apart from solar lighting, there will be emergency telephones at every 5km, food plaza and restaurants, shops and wayside amenities. The wayside amenities include trauma centre, truck terminus, IT parks, educational institute, median plantation/landscaping, bus bays, tunnel lighting, bridge beautification, street lighting and digitized signage.
The Expressway will also have free Wi-Fi access, traffic surveillance and enforcement apart from CCTV to monitor the project length.
All Round Development
Once the Expressway is constructed, the state government hopes of developing the areas along it, as is the experience from earlier road infrastructure projects. This development will not only help the region to be benefited with economic development, but also prove helpful in arresting migration, which has been a major concern.
The state government adopted direct purchase scheme to acquire around 10,000 hectares of land for the project and made upfront payment to the landholder after arriving at a final price of the land through negotiations.
The state government, through dialogues and deliberations, paid highest-ever compensation to the landholders by following the provisions of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013.
Project Report
From conducting feasibility study to purchasing the land to issuing necessary tenders, MSRDC carried out its responsibility very well. The engineering department of the MSRDC conducted tests as regards designing the proposed expressway, deciding the texture of the land and determining the quality of construction needed to be done, finalising the bridges, tunnels, vehicular underpasses (VUPs), pedestrian underpasses (PUPs), cattle underpasses and other related work. After all these studies and tests, the Corporation submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the State Government. This consisted of exact land needed to be required for the construction of the expressway, land required around the highway, social and environmental impact due to the construction of the highway etc.
After getting approval from the state government, the process to acquire land for the project commenced. The Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg will pass through 26 talukas and 390 villages in 10 districts of Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldana, Jalna, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Nashik and Thane. The acquisition of land from these villages was necessary for the purpose of this highway.
Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg requires around 8311 hectares of land. The Government has acquired 100% of the land required for RoW. All the pre-construction activities for building the highway have been completed. The road from Nagpur to Igatpuri which is around 612 km from the total highway distance of 701 km is expected to be completed by December 2020. The rest of the highway from Igatpuri to Thane is expected to be completed by June 2021. This highway will also have a few tunnels since there are many hilly areas between Igatpuri and Thane
Highlights of MSM
The Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, expected to cost a whopping Rs 55,000 crore, is not only limited to fast traffic between the two cities of Nagpur and Mumbai, but the state will get many financial benefits in future due to the expressway. There are three roads on each side of the MSM which will be 120-meter wide. The central median of the highway will also be wide and the MSRDC is considering commercial use of the central median in the future.
Apart from this, primary facilities such as health, education will also be there. The agricultural prosperity centers will be along the proposed expressway as also be connected to the nearby districts. Modern facilities such as WiFi, guest houses, food malls, petrol pumps, truck terminus, busbays, landscapes, quick response teams, trauma centers etc will be available on the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg along with the agriculture prosperity centers.
Boost to Employment Generation
The MSM will also serve as catalyst for employment generation. It will create ample employment opportunities since many industries will come along the expressway thereby giving a boost to the socio-economic development of the districts. It is estimated that 2 million jobs will be created in the next two decades once the expressway gets operational. The creation of the agricultural prosperity centers will help the villagers get self-employed. The construction sector will also get accelerated due to this expressway while dry ports at Wardha and Jalna will also pave way for rising employment opportunities.
The Maharashtra Samrudhi Mahamarg will also facilitate the transportation of agricultural produce as it will be easier for the farmers to take their goods to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in lesser time thereby saving their cost as regards fuel and freight. This, in turn, will lead to the promotion of their goods and boost exports.
Apart from this, the expressway will also be a boon to promote tourism in the state. Major tourist destinations such as Lonar Lake, Ajanta/Ellora caves, Pench National Park, Shegaon, Sewagram, Shirdi, Daulatabad Fort, Bibi-Ka-Maqbara will get easier connectivity. These tourist destinations will come within the reach of the passengers and prove helpful in boosting economic development of the surrounding areas.
Dry Ports and Prosperity
A dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the trans-shipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. Special arrangements are being made by the government to set up custom clearance offices and other authorities in the complex of dry port, so that the industry participant need not travel to the original port to carry out customs formalities.
The Dry Port at Wardha will facilitate the cotton growers in the Vidarbha region as they will be able to take their produce to JNPT without much wastage of time. The Dry Port will also help the industries that have come up at Butibori industrial area for easy export-import.
Many countries have developed dry ports to simplify trade and cargo flows between seaports and final destinations. Dry ports play a very important role in the countries that are not well connected with the actual port. Benefits of dry ports include reduced transport cost of moving freight inland by rail rather than road. It also reduces transport costs reflecting in lowering the prices of traded goods.
All in all, the Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg will be the driving force for Maharashtra’s economic development. The power to change the face of the state’s development in the coming decade lies on this expressway. It will also be path breaking project for future infrastructural development in the state.