Mumbai, March 11 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday directed the administration to ensure that the construction of the new Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur is completed by 2028.
He emphasised the need for immediate action to complete the main complex — which will house the Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council and a Central Hall — along with independent administrative buildings within the stipulated timeframe.
The directives were issued during a meeting of the Cabinet Infrastructure Committee held at the Legislature.
The committee discussed land acquisition, approval processes and fund allocations for several high-impact projects, including the new Vidhan Bhavan complex and administrative building in Nagpur, the Neral-Shirur Highway designed as an alternative to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, connectivity nodes linking the Alibaug-Virar Highway (Atal Setu), Mumbai-Goa Highway and Mumbai-Pune Expressway, and the Pune-Shirur six-lane elevated corridor.
Replacing the current structure built in 1920, the new Vidhan Bhavan is being designed to meet modern legislative and administrative standards. The complex will feature Blocks A, B and C, housing the Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council, Central Hall, committee rooms and a press gallery.
The four-storey main complex will span 62,924 square feet. A provision of Rs 662 crore has been made for the main complex and Rs 339 crore for the administrative building.
The new Vidhan Bhavan will comprise a Legislative Assembly with a seating capacity of 400, a Legislative Council with 120 seats and a Central Hall with a capacity of 700 seats, according to a government release.
The proposed Neral-Shirur Highway was also a major point of discussion during the meeting. Starting from Karjat-Neral in Raigad district, the highway will connect to Shirur on the Pune-Ahilyanagar Highway.
The route is expected to significantly reduce traffic load on the existing Mumbai-Pune Expressway and provide a convenient transit corridor for vehicles coming from various parts of the state. The Chief Minister instructed officials to expedite the necessary approvals and funding for the project.
Additionally, in light of rising traffic demand, the committee reviewed technical details for the Pune-Shirur project, which includes a six-lane elevated road and a four-lane at-grade (ground-level) road.
–IANS
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