Mumbai, June 6 (IANS) Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal has demanded that the state government should release a white paper on the corruption involved in the development of 701-km Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway or Samruddhi Mahamarg.

“The Devendra Fadnavis government is patting itself on the back after inaugurating the final phase of the Samruddhi Expressway, but this project has become a breeding ground for corruption. The cost of the project, originally estimated at Rs 55,000 crore, has escalated to Rs 70,000 crore. The inflated cost of Rs 15,000 crore points to massive corruption. If the government has any ethical standards left, it should release a white paper on the Samruddhi Expressway project,” Sapkal said on Thursday.

Reacting to the inauguration of the final phase of the Samruddhi Expressway, the Maharashtra Congress President said that corruption worth Rs 3,000 crore was exposed in the Ghodbunder-Bhayander tunnel and elevated road project. The government was forced to cancel the tender only after the Supreme Court’s intervention.

“Just like the Ghodbunder-Bhayander project, there has been large-scale corruption in the Samruddhi Expressway as well, from which close aides of Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde have profited immensely. The “50 khoke, ekdum okay” (50 boxes, all okay) scandal was funded by the corruption money from this project. The Samruddhi Expressway is essentially a highway of corruption,” he alleged.

Sapkal demanded that the state government should present a full account through a white paper, detailing how much money was spent, the cost of each bridge, per-kilometre construction expenses, compensation paid to farmers for land acquisition, payments to contractors, costs for tree plantation, and revenue being collected through tolls.

He also said that due to poor construction quality, many portions of the expressway have already developed cracks.

“Since the expressway became operational, numerous accidents have occurred, leading to multiple deaths and hundreds of injuries. The Samruddhi Expressway has only served to enrich a select few from the ruling party. There must be a thorough investigation of the corruption involved in this project,” he emphasised.

–IANS

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