Mumbai, May 22 (IANS) Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday expressed confidence that Maharashtra is driving holistic progress through heavy industries, modern infrastructure, rapid connectivity, skill development, housing and eco-friendly projects, and said this comprehensive development blueprint would propel the state’s economy towards the $1 trillion milestone.

Moving rapidly towards the vision of a “Viksit Bharat 2047”, Maharashtra is set to construct a new development expressway connecting Mumbai to Surjagarh in Gadchiroli, the Deputy Chief Minister said during an interactive session here.

He presented a detailed overview of the state’s progress across infrastructure, heavy industries, housing, transit, environment and the socio-economic transformation of remote regions such as Gadchiroli.

Highlighting Mumbai as the nation’s financial powerhouse and remote areas like Gadchiroli as repositories of natural and industrial wealth, DCM Shinde said the government’s focus was on decentralised growth, ensuring that development is not confined to major metropolitan areas but also enriches rural, tribal and backward regions.

Initiatives such as the Samruddhi Mahamarg, the expanding metro network, the Navi Mumbai International Airport, industrial corridors, integrated steel plants and skill development centres have provided a major boost to employment generation, charting a growth trajectory from “Coast to Forest”.

Deputy CM Shinde said that to streamline mineral logistics from the Surjagarh mining belt, an 85-km greenfield road project had been approved.

This corridor will directly link with the operational Samruddhi Mahamarg, reducing transit time between Mumbai and Gadchiroli to just nine to 10 hours. Furthermore, a new airport project has received structural approval in Gadchiroli.

He pointed out that infrastructure projects worth approximately Rs 4 lakh crore are currently under execution across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Major projects include the Atal Setu, Mumbai Coastal Road, bullet train, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Metro Line 3 and the mega Vadhavan Port.

“To alleviate urban congestion, a multimodal transport system is being aggressively advanced. The government’s target is to ensure commuters can travel from one end of Mumbai to the other within 60 minutes. A massive 337-km metro grid is being set up, driven by the expansion of Metro Lines 2B, 4, 5, 6, 7A, 9 and 12,” he added.

Eknath Shinde said that the NITI Aayog roadmap is being implemented to double Mumbai’s GDP and establish it as the global fintech capital.

Simultaneously, satellite cities are being transformed into self-reliant economic zones — Kalyan as a logistics hub, Dombivli as a knowledge and service sector hub, Ambernath as an industrial and MSME hub, and Badlapur as a benchmark model for sustainable urban development.

Under the ‘Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Urban Public Welfare Mission’, a large-scale drive is underway to make Mumbai slum-free.

Using NETRAM technology — which combines satellite data, GIS mapping and digital surveillance — the state will actively curb new encroachments, DCM Shinde said.

Shinde re-emphasised Maharashtra’s balanced and inclusive developmental vision.

By seamlessly bridging industrial powerhouses with remote, resource-rich tribal belts through robust infrastructure and social empowerment, the government is committed to ensuring that every citizen enters the economic mainstream, thereby cementing Maharashtra’s role as the growth engine driving India’s progress, he remarked.

–IANS

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