Land acquisition cost in Maharashtra high: Nitin Gadkari

04 Oct 2021 CW Team

Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari told the media the land acquisition cost is high in Maharashtra and had directed the state government to lower the rates.

On Saturday, speaking at a function in Ahmednagar, Gadkari said that the secretary of his department had even circulated an order that they would not undertake any new road project in Maharashtra unless the state government reduces the land purchase cost. He said that the land procurement costs Rs 18 crore per acre in Maharashtra.

Gadkari said that reducing the land acquisition cost did not imply that the farmers would suffer a financial loss. He will guarantee that they (farmers) get a more attractive rate and are not at loss for parting with their land. But the road ministry is not in a position to acquire land at a high cost as apart from constructing roads, other infrastructures like roadside amenities, bus stands, etc have to be installed by them.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) will be executing the Surat-Chennai greenfield expressway project worth Rs 50,000 crore, which will pass via Ahmednagar, Nashik, and Solapur. This project will be connected up to Hyderabad and Kochi. Once this project is complete, it would relieve the traffic from North India in districts such as Kolhapur. It includes 180 km in Ahmednagar district, and the ministry will spend Rs 8,000 crore in this district.

Image Source

Also read: 76 national highway projects of about Rs 62k cr face inordinate delays

Infrastructure Urban

09 Feb 2026

Eicher Delivers First 13.5 m Electric Intercity Sleeper Bus

Eicher Trucks & Buses, a business unit of VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd., has recently delivered its first 13.5 m electric intercity sleeper bus, marking a key milestone in India’s long-distance electric mobility segment. The first bus is being operated by LeafyBus, with plans to deploy 35 buses by March 2026 across high-demand intercity corridors in North India.The initial deployment will cover routes such as Delhi–Dehradun and Delhi–Lucknow, supporting LeafyBus’ expansion across environmentally sensitive and high-density travel corridors.Commenting on the partnership, Suresh Chettia..

HCSS Showcases Unified Construction Platform at CONEXPO 2026

HCSS will recently present the next evolution of its connected construction management platform at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026, bringing together construction workflows, data and teams on a single platform across the entire project lifecycle. The event will be held from 3–7 March 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. HCSS will host two booths at the show, demonstrating how its integrated software ecosystem enables seamless collaboration between the office, field and shop, from bid stage through to project closeout. Steve McGough, President and CEO, HCSS, said, “For 40 years, we’ve done everything within..

Berger Paints Q3 Profit Declines Despite Volume Growth

Berger Paints India has reported a mixed performance for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, with healthy volume growth and margin improvement offset by softer demand conditions and cost pressures. On a consolidated basis, revenue from operations for the quarter stood at Rs 29,840 million, compared to Rs 29,751 million in the corresponding quarter last year, reflecting a marginal increase of 0.3 per cent. EBITDA (excluding other income) was Rs 4,710 million, slightly lower than Rs 4,717 million a year earlier. Net profit declined by 8.3 per cent to Rs 2,713 million from Rs 2,960 million. Sta..