To overcome resistance for land acquisition in its largest greenfield infrastructure development project linking Mumbai to Nagpur with a 710km "communication super expressway," the state government has adopted a land pooling model like that used for Andhra Pradesh's new capital of Amaravati.
Farmers whose lands will be acquired for the project will be given 25 to 30% of developed land and annual crop loss compensation for a decade. The regional development project will pass through some of the most backward regions of Maharashtra and see the development of 24 agro-development zones.
The eight-lane expressway to be constructed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will be designed for speeds up to 150 kms per hour to enable the journey to be covered in just around six to seven hours.
The state cabinet on Tuesday approved in-principle the land pooling model for the around Rs 30,000 crore Mumbai- Nagpur communication super expressway. The "Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg," which will have a Greenfield alignment from Bhiwandi near Mumbai to Nagpur, will pass through the five revenue revenue divisions, 27 talukas and 350 villages. It will need 22,000 hectare land including 10,000 hectare for the road and interchanges and the rest for the 24 new "krishi samruddhi kendras" equipped with agro processing facilities. This also includes government land, which will be transferred to the MSRDC.
A state official said while dry land farmers whose land would be acquired, would get 25% of this back as developed plots to be used for commercial purposes, those owning irrigated land would get 30%. Those losing land for the nodes will get 30% land. Both unirrigated and irrigated farmers will get annuity of Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh per hectare with an annual increase of 10% for 10 years. Five new townships—one in each revenue division—will be developed in the project.
This Greenfield development will do away with compensation and right of way issues in widening the existing Mumbai- Nagpur highway.
"This is a path-breaking, landmark policy," said Maharashtra chief secretary Swadheen Kshatriya. "The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has tried this out to an extent for the Navi Mumbai international airport (NMIA), but this policy includes new points," he said.
The road passing through 10 districts of Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldhana, Aurangabad, Jalna, Ahmednagar, Nashik and Thane before finally touching Mumbai, will bring development to backward areas, he added.
Intelligent management road
MSRDC managing director Radheshyam Mopalwar said: "This will be an intelligent management road... without booms or barriers," he said, adding that toll would collected only at the entry and exit in this "free-flow road."
Other features would include automatic number plate registration, lane cutting management, CCTVs and an underground network of optical fibre, utilities and power transmission lines. The state plans to complete the project in 2019.
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