Maha Govt Struggles with Debt, Not Enough Money for Infrastructure?

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday, December 3, that all the infrastructure projects in the state will continue and state will see that the project work should be expedited. "We will see that the projects are completed within designated time frames. For that, the priorities of the state need to be decided. We are taking overviews of the projects. No orders were given to stall any ongoing projects," said Thackeray. This was in a way an answer to reports saying that the newly sworn Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has been mulling options to stop big ticket projects of infrastructure.

The money involved in the mega projects in state is huge, which is why there have been discussions, especially in corporate circles, pink papers, and among social media influencers about the need of these projects. NewsClick found out the total amount of money being invested in these mega projects

As per the press note on Tuesday issued by Maharashtra government's public relation department, the CM reviewed the ongoing projects, including Mumbai Metro, Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, Navi Mumbai airport and Samriddhi Mahamarg. All these projects are very important for the state's infrastructure, especially connectivity.

Earlier, Devendra Fadnavis government in the state had given nod to the metro work in Mumbai for total 12 lines. The total length of these 12 lines is 276.7 km. The amount to be invested for the project is Rs 1,25,201 crore. Out of these 12, total seven lines are to be operational by July 2022. The amount to be spent on these seven lines is Rs 59,758 crore.

Another project that was reviewed is the Samruddhi Mahamarg. This eight lane Mumbai Nagpur expressway was the dream project of Devendra Fadnavis. The total cost of this project goes up to Rs 55,335 crore.

The Navi Mumbai airport is another important project for the infrastructure of Mumbai. It is currently undergoing construction. In a few villages, the land acquisition for this project continues to remain a controversial issue. The amount assigned to this project is Rs 16,000 crore.

Mumbai Trans Harbour Link has been an ambitious project of state for almost two decades now. It will connect South Mumbai to Uran and other area of Raigad, and reduce the travel time by almost 3 hours. It will also help Uran and Panvel areas to grow further. The project is under construction and the cost is Rs 14,262 crore.

The total cost of these projects add up to Rs 2,10,597 crore.

On the other hand, Maharashtra is under a huge debt of Rs 6,71,000 crore. The government will have to pay attention to rural infrastructure. The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have won seats from rural area, mainly regions facing rural distress. Shiv Sena is an urban centric party, having huge political capital in Mumbai and Thane area. So, all the three principal partners in this government have urgent needs to address, and the state government’s resources are not enough for this.