State releases final notification for Shaktipeeth expressway, clearing way for joint survey & land acquisition

Kolhapur: Govt issued the final notification for the proposed 856km Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway on June 9, clearing the way for MSRDC to begin joint surveys in 298 of the 409 villages where work remains pending.The expressway is chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s flagship project linking Vidarbha to Goa via key Shaktipeeth pilgrimage sites. So far, progress had primarily been limited to finalising route alignment using drone surveys.Addressing the media in Kolhapur, minister of higher and technical education Chandrakant Patil drew parallels with the Samruddhi Expressway, which had faced similar resistance during its initial phase.

“Once land acquisition rates and compensation are announced, likely within a week, people will come forward, just as they did earlier,” he said.Patil also criticised opposition leaders, questioning their stance on land acquisition, and pointed to past projects like the Koyna dam, where rehabilitation issues remain unresolved.The controlled-access expressway will stretch from Digraj in Wardha district to Banda in Sindhudurg, passing through 13 districts, 40 talukas and 409 villages.

The estimated cost of the project stands at Rs 1.01 lakh crore. Once complete, the expressway is expected to cut travel time between Nagpur and Goa from around 21 hours to just eight hours.The revised alignment will traverse Wardha, Yavatmal, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Solapur, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts.Meanwhile, protest groups continue to oppose the project. Girish Phonde, state coordinator of the Shaktipeeth Highway Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti, said farmers have time till June 30 to file written objections to the notification. “The project is being imposed despite strong resistance. It is unnecessary and appears designed to benefit contractors and enable corruption,” he alleged, urging farmers across the affected districts to submit maximum objections against land acquisition.