Mumbai, July 10 (IANS) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday asserted that the state government is fully committed to building a safe, capable, and developed Maharashtra.

Replying to last week’s resolution in the Legislative Council, Shinde emphasised that the administration has accorded top priority to disaster management, infrastructure expansion, law and order, women’s safety, water conservation, and citizen-centric redevelopment.

Shinde highlighted that under Mumbai’s mega concrete road project, 575 km of roads have been completed so far. Upon completion, 93 per cent of the city’s roads will be concretised. Key projects like the ‘Missing Link’ and the ‘Atal Setu’ have significantly eased traffic congestion, while the expanding metro network now serves millions of daily commuters.

Following heavy rainfall after July 1, the government swiftly relocated 3,318 citizens to safer locations across the Satara, Palghar, Pune, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Thane, and Nashik districts. Over 16 crore pre-warning alerts were sent out via the ‘Sachet’ system. About 15 NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) and 8 SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) teams remain deployed for immediate response, informed Shinde.

He added that a special fund of Rs 10 crore has been sanctioned to repair heavy-rain damage in Alandi ahead of the Ashadhi Wari pilgrimage.

An integrated flood control project worth Rs 13,000 crore has received in-principle approval from the Central Government to permanently eliminate chronic flooding spots in Mumbai. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being deployed in desilting operations to ensure transparency, with strict penalties imposed on non-compliant contractors, he said.

According to Shinde, since April 1, 2025, the state has initiated 7,785 actions against illegal excavation and mineral transport. The government has recovered Rs 92.91 crore in fines, seized 4,349 pieces of machinery, registered 1,685 cases, and detained 24 individuals under the MPDA (Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities) Act.

He added that the administrative staff have been suspended and that disciplinary action has been initiated against the Tehsildar involved in the Georai sand misuse case in Beed district.

Shinde said that serious crimes across the state have declined noticeably. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the crime detection rate has soared to 85.16 per cent, supported by over 1.95 lakh preventive actions.

The detection rate for crimes against women stands at 94.77 per cent, with investigations completed in 98.18 per cent of sexual assault cases.

Maharashtra Cyber successfully saved Rs 1,599 crore of citizens’ money from cyber fraud over the last five years. The project was recently honoured with the ‘Digital Transformation of the Year’ award in Boston.

He announced that there is zero tolerance for drugs as the government has taken a slew of measures to check the drug menace. Authorities seized 83 kg of MD drugs worth Rs 193 crore, arresting 591 individuals across 349 cases. Action against international drug trafficker Salim Dola led to the seizure of assets and narcotics worth Rs 256 crore.

He said that the state is set to aggressively implement rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge initiatives.

Alongside popular welfare schemes like the ‘Ladki Bahin’ yojana, the state is attracting massive industrial investments in IT, Data Centres, and Artificial Intelligence. Additionally, securing 10 TMC of water from the Narmada River will accelerate development in the Khandesh region.

To enhance accountability in local bodies, the government is progressively introducing an independent audit mechanism utilising Geo-tagging, GIS mapping, and AI.

Shinde said that landmark redevelopment projects in Mumbai, including Motilal Nagar, Abhyuday Nagar, GTB Nagar, Kamathipura, SVP Nagar, and BDD Chawls, are being fast-tracked to provide modern housing to lakhs of families. Policy roadblocks related to the Pagdi system, funnel zones, defence lands, and CRZ regulations have been strategically resolved.

He further stated that major infrastructure projects are progressing rapidly across Thane, Pune, Konkan, Vidarbha, and Marathwada. Key ongoing developments include the Madh-Versova Bridge, Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR), Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel, Virar-Alibaug Multimodal Corridor, Pune Ring Road, Jalna-Nanded Expressway, Bhandara-Gadchiroli Highway, Dharamtar-Karanja Bridge, Konkan Coastal Road, Surjagarh Mining Corridor, and the upcoming third offshore airport in Palghar.

–IANS

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