Fadnavis’ Role in Mumbai's Growth

G GOWTHAM
Devendra fadnavis, the deputy chief minister of maharashtra, has put in his nomination for the next state assembly elections. Fadnavis's prior initiatives for the state's social and economic development are particularly noteworthy as he gets ready for the november elections.
 
He has been instrumental in accelerating a number of significant infrastructure projects in Mumbai.
 
The city is currently experiencing major infrastructure upgrades all at once for a purpose, and intelligent administration and strong political will have been crucial. Roads, metro, redevelopments, and much more are among the projects. 

Undoubtedly, a number of these initiatives have seen years of setbacks, obstacles, and political and administrative unrest; some have even been put on hold for decades. Mumbai's development trajectory and high-quality infrastructure for its citizens were continuously impeded by these delays.
 

The return of devendra fadnavis always brought good news for the state's infrastructure development, even if many of these projects were put on hold under the MVA government.
 
Fadnavis, who is currently the deputy chief minister, was instrumental in bringing numerous long-stalled infrastructure projects back to life during his time as chief minister from 2014 to 2019.
 
Additionally, a number of revolutionary urban initiatives that might alter Mumbai's environment were introduced.
 

War Room and Japanese Collaborations

A 'war room' was established by the fadnavis to expedite and guarantee the timely completion of important infrastructure projects in the state.
 
The war room's directive was unambiguous: give priority to initiatives that have a significant impact on a large number of people and make sure departmental inefficiencies don't cause them to stall.
 
The coastal road, Navi mumbai airport, the second and third mumbai Metro lines, and the mumbai Trans-Harbour line were among the 10 significant infrastructure projects that the war room highlighted when it was originally established in 2015.
 
During his tenure, each of these initiatives advanced significantly.

He emphadata-sized his commitment to achieving timely completions and aggressively worked with the japan international Cooperation Agency (JICA) as the chief minister to get funding for important projects that were essential to Mumbai's development.
 
JICA is renowned for offering technical and financial support for a range of international development initiatives. The organization has been providing funds for the development of infrastructure in india across several industries.
 
This includes water supply projects in tamil Nadu and Gujarat, industrial corridors, and transportation, all of which raise living conditions and encourage sustainable growth.
 

Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) 

A crucial project, the mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) has received Rs 8,800 crore of the Rs 17,843 crore in finance from JICA.
 
The MTHL project entails building a 21.8-kilometer elevated road, of which 16.11 kilometers will be a maritime link between chile in Navi mumbai and Sewri in South Mumbai. The project, which links mumbai and Navi mumbai, was introduced in january 2024.
 
But after 53 years, four unsuccessful tendering efforts over a 12-year period, and 15 Chief Ministers since the first plan, fadnavis was ultimately able to satisfy all the standards needed to start the project.

Wilbur Smith and Associates originally suggested connecting Sewri on the eastern side of mumbai with Uran on the mainland close to Nhava Sheva port in 1963, according to ashish Chandorkar's book The fadnavis Years.
 
The government of india commissioned Wilbur Smith and Associates to do a traffic study in mumbai after they were founded in 1952 and completed traffic studies in the United Kingdom.
 
Smith's business spent eighteen months analyzing Mumbai's traffic demands and projecting future traffic patterns between 1962 and 1963.
 
He suggested building a bridge to connect Uran and South mumbai in his 1963 report to the Ministry of Transportation. But the Uran Bridge, which is now the mumbai Trans Harbour Link, was put in cold storage and kept there for many years.
 

Other Key Projects Pushed Forward
Mumbai Metro Line 3

Fadnavis also data-faced difficulties with the mumbai Metro Line 3, which was delayed from 2013 to 2016 mostly because of problems with permissions and land acquisition.
 
The most important was resolving the disputes and hold-ups related to the distribution of land for its depot in Aarey, which the MVA government had targeted.
 
Aarey is a rich biodiversity area that spans 1,800 acres of forest land in the northern neighborhood of Goregaon, close to the Sanjay gandhi National Park (SGNP).
 
Construction on the disputed Aarey depot started in 2015, but the supreme court put a stop to it in october 2019. About thirty percent of the project was finished at that point.

About a month later, the state administration, led by uddhav thackeray of the Shiv Sena, said that the Metro car shed project at Aarey would no longer proceed and would instead be relocated to the 102-acre Kanjurmarg property.
 
But when the top brass moved in june 2022, things took a different turn. After the supreme court gave its approval, the project was redirected from Kanjurmarg to Aarey.
 
With approvals beginning in 2013, this line was the first major project to get money from JICA. It was also awarded a substantial loan of Rs 2,480 Crore in official development assistance (ODA).
 
The subterranean network is positioned to improve connection from southern mumbai to important activity centers, such as the airport, SEEPZ, and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), with a projected length of 33.7 kilometers and 26 stops.
 

Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed rail Project

Due in large part to land acquisition concerns and local opposition, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed rail Project, another ambitious endeavor, was also freed of obstacles, especially in 2016.
 
Nearly Rs 88,000 crore of the Rs 1,10,000 crore project cost is being financed by JICA.
 
The first high-speed rail route in india is the 508-kilometer Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed rail (MAHSR) project. The project is expected to cost more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore, with a total expenditure of Rs 1.1 lakh crore.
 
The maharashtra administration, led by fadnavis, accelerated permissions for the bullet train project while promising japan JICA-funded fast-tracking projects.


 
 


 


 
 
 
 
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