Maharashtra Clears Rs 208 Bn Shaktipeeth Expressway Land

26 Jun 2025 CW Team

Conceived as a cultural and religious artery, the highway will knit together major shrines such as the Shaktipeeths at Mahur, Tuljapur and Kolhapur, the Ambajogai temple, Pandharpur’s Shri Vitthal Rukmini Mandir, and the Jyotirlingas at Aundha Nagnath and Parli Vaijnath. Although expected to boost pilgrimage and regional tourism, the scheme has encountered sharp resistance from farmers—particularly in western Maharashtra—who fear large-scale land loss.

During Tuesday’s meeting Education Minister Hasan Mushrif and Health Minister Prakash Abitkar, both from Kolhapur, warned that farmer anger had already hurt the ruling Mahayuti alliance in recent polls. In response, the Cabinet approved only the Pavnar-to-Sangli section (over 700 kilometres) and dropped the contentious alignment through six Kolhapur talukas, including Shirol and Karvir.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis instructed the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to draft an alternative Sangli-to-Sindhudurg alignment after talks with local stakeholders. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar later told reporters that no land would be taken without consent, stressing “there will be no forced implementation”.

The project will be executed by MSRDC, which has secured a Rs 120 billion loan from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation to purchase nearly 7 500 hectares. Promoted as a catalyst for economic integration across Vidarbha, Marathwada and western Maharashtra, the expressway is expected to strengthen links between key spiritual, commercial and coastal zones once a final route is agreed.

The Maharashtra Cabinet has approved land acquisition worth about Rs 208 billion for the proposed 802-kilometre Shaktipeeth Expressway, which will run from Pavnar in Wardha district to Patradevi on the Goa border. Scheduled to connect twelve districts—Wardha, Yavatmal, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur and Sindhudurg—the corridor will also link with the planned Konkan Expressway, slashing the journey from Nagpur to Goa from eighteen hours to eight.Conceived as a cultural and religious artery, the highway will knit together major shrines such as the Shaktipeeths at Mahur, Tuljapur and Kolhapur, the Ambajogai temple, Pandharpur’s Shri Vitthal Rukmini Mandir, and the Jyotirlingas at Aundha Nagnath and Parli Vaijnath. Although expected to boost pilgrimage and regional tourism, the scheme has encountered sharp resistance from farmers—particularly in western Maharashtra—who fear large-scale land loss.During Tuesday’s meeting Education Minister Hasan Mushrif and Health Minister Prakash Abitkar, both from Kolhapur, warned that farmer anger had already hurt the ruling Mahayuti alliance in recent polls. In response, the Cabinet approved only the Pavnar-to-Sangli section (over 700 kilometres) and dropped the contentious alignment through six Kolhapur talukas, including Shirol and Karvir.Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis instructed the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to draft an alternative Sangli-to-Sindhudurg alignment after talks with local stakeholders. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar later told reporters that no land would be taken without consent, stressing “there will be no forced implementation”.The project will be executed by MSRDC, which has secured a Rs 120 billion loan from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation to purchase nearly 7 500 hectares. Promoted as a catalyst for economic integration across Vidarbha, Marathwada and western Maharashtra, the expressway is expected to strengthen links between key spiritual, commercial and coastal zones once a final route is agreed.

Real Estate

04 Aug 2026

LML Realty Launches Cinema Campaign on Industrial Vision

LML Realty has launched a cinema advertising campaign in partnership with PVR INOX across 81 screens in Gurugram and Faridabad, showcasing the brand’s transformation from a mobility icon to an industrial infrastructure developer.The campaign features a cinematic brand film tracing LML’s journey since 1972, beginning with its iconic scooters and highlighting its evolution into creating infrastructure solutions that support India’s manufacturing growth.The film focuses on LML Industrial Park at Jhirka Valley, the company’s flagship industrial development approved under the Haryana Govern..

Real Estate

04 Aug 2026

IIM Ahmedabad Publishes Case Study on HoABL’s Business Model

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has published a case study on The House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), examining the company’s digital-first consumer journey and business model that created India’s branded land category.Titled “HoABL: Ready for Scaling Up”, the case study has been published by the IIMA Case Centre and co-authored by Sourav Borah, Associate Professor of Marketing at IIMA, and Dr Aparna Kansal of IMT Ghaziabad. IIMA case studies are used across management and executive education programmes to help students and business leaders analyse strategic decision..

Infrastructure Energy

04 Aug 2026

Advait Energy and MEIL Partner for Energy Transition Projects

Advait Energy Transitions Limited (AETL) and Manipal Energy Infratech Limited (MEIL), a company of The Manipal Group, have entered into a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on power and energy transition opportunities across India and international markets.The partnership aims to combine AETL’s expertise in innovative energy technologies and manufacturing with MEIL’s EPC execution capabilities and project management experience. The collaboration will focus on opportunities across Power Transmission & Distribution, Renewable Energy, Battery Energy Storage Systems..