Project charter

1. Objectives of the project:

The ambitious super communication expressway, Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi
Corridor connecting 10 districts of Maharashtra, will provide last-mile
connectivity and has been undertaken by the Maharashtra State Road
Development Corporation (MSRDC). 
The project necessitates flourishing 710 km communication super expressway
linking Mumbai with Nagpur via backward regions of Maharashtra on
engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis. The expressway route
is going to be built in two phases which can undergo 10 main districts, 14 other
districts, and 26 sub-districts. In all, the expressway will crosswise 392 villages.
The super communication expressway, will drastically bring down travel time
between Mumbai and Nagpur from the existing 18 to just eight hours.
Moreover, the project will attribute to the general development of the state by
creating an enormous opportunity for business, trade, education, health care and
other services.

2. Need of the study:

Development of Expressway projects is generally intended to enhance the
economic and social welfare of the people. At the same time, it is also studied to
know the influence it has made on the surrounding environment.
The environmental impact of highway projects include damage to sensitive eco-
systems, soil erosion, changes to drainage pattern and so on. To minimize these
unfavourable consequences that may be created by the highway development
projects, the techniques of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) become
necessary.

3. Stakeholders:
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation is the central agency in
charge of executing the project which comprises building a completely
greenfield expressway, designed for speeds up to 150 km/h on flat terrain and
up to 100 km/h on the mountainous terrain of the Western Ghats segment.
The state government also plans to create 24 townships along the route
involving state-of-the art healthcare facilities, skill management centres, IT
parks and academic institutions. A total of 20,820 hectares of land is to be
captured for the project across 10 districts, out of which 8,520 hectares will
used for the expressway, while 10,800 hectares would be for building
townships. MSRDC will also require a loan of ₹28,000 crore loan from banks
for the purpose funding the project. To expedite the pre-construction work on
the expressway, MSRDC decided to divide the project into five packages and
hired a separate consultancy firm to organise the Detailed Project Report for
each package.

4. Conflict Raised:

Conflict-1
Land acquisition hurdles- While the government offered a “handsome
compensation” to farmers suffering from the project under the land pooling
scheme, it met with a tepid response.
Conflict-2
Large-scale protests broke out with farmer groups objecting to the acquisition
and therefore the diverse terrain, including reserved forests and sanctuaries,
raising questions of environmental sustainability.

5. Overview of the funding pattern:

The state government is trying its best way out to get the 702km long Mumbai-
Nagpur expressway off the ground. But the funding will arrive at a cost to the
cash-strapped government. With various international funding agencies, that the
state had approached, refusing to urge on board the Rs 55,000 crore project, the
state had got a consortium of nationalised banks to back the project. The
consortium of 11 banks led by Life Insurance Corporation and State Bank of
India will together lend Rs 28,000 crore for the Phase 1 of the project, including
building of the highway.
In return, the MSRDC has agreed to pay an interest of 9.5% for this loan that
will be repaid over 28 years. The agency also will mortgage 1,000 acres of land
owned by it round the Mumbai-Pune expressway, its first project to the banks as
collateral.
Another 29 acres of land in Bandra and 1.5 acres of land at Nepean Sea Road,
also belonging to MSRDC, are going to be mortgaged to the banks. That’s not
all, “The state will provide cash grant of Rs 6,000 crore for the project which
will be used to pay interest during the development phase. The cabinet has
sanctioned it.