Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has vowed that Mumbai will be pothole-free within the next 2-3 years, as the city shifts from temporary tar-coal fixes to long-lasting concrete roads.
Shinde said the MahaYuti government has prepared a detailed infrastructure roadmap for Mumbai and Maharashtra.
He revealed that road concretization is already in full swing, with a 400 kilometer stretch currently under development.
A recent review meeting with BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation’s Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani set a deadline of 31 May for its completion.
“After that, road digging will stop. Only essential patchwork will be done to minimize disruptions during the monsoon,” Shinde said.
Taking a swipe at past governments, Shinde declared, “The era of whitewashing black roads is over.”
He criticized the former Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration for its reliance on short-term repairs and delays in infrastructure delivery.
“When we took charge two and a half years ago, we inherited a backlog of stalled and pending projects. We’ve restarted and fast-tracked them,” he asserted.
Shinde highlighted the pace of metro development, saying 370 kilometers of metro work is currently underway. “The city’s metro network will expand in phases over the next two to three years, easing traffic congestion significantly,” he said.
Defending the government’s decision to proceed with the Aarey Metro carshed, Shinde explained that further delays would have escalated project costs by Rs 3,000 crore and pushed back completion by another three years.
Shinde also pointed to transformative projects worth Rs 3 to 5 lakh crore that are reshaping the state’s future—ranging from the Samruddhi Mahamarg, Atal Setu, and Coastal Road, to the Metro Rail, Vadhavan Port, and Navi Mumbai International Airport.
On the fiscal front, Shinde assured that Maharashtra’s financial health remains strong despite recent welfare initiatives like the Ladki Bahin Yojana. “We’re leading the nation in GDP, exports, industrial output, foreign investment, startups, and skilled manpower,” he said.