Shinde-Fadnavis govt gives major push to infrastructure projects

Giving a major push to infrastructure development, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government has appointed a dedicated officer who would oversee the projects in Maharashtra.

The state government appointed IAS officer and veteran infrastructure projects execution expert Radheshyam Mopalwar as Director General (War Room - Infrastructure Projects).

Mopalwar would work in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) and would fast-track the implementation of various projects.

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Soon after Shinde and Fadnavis took over as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, respectively, they undertook an extensive review of all pending, stuck, ongoing and future infrastructure projects -- totally valued well over Rs 10-lakh-crore.

Mopalwar had been in the good books of top leaders of various governments, including the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government between 1999- 2014, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance government between 2014-19, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government between 2019-22 and the current Shiv Sena’s Shinde-faction and BJP government.

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There are several agencies which are executing projects including the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

An IAS officer of 1995-batch, Mopalwar retired on February 28, 2018, however, an extension was given and he was made the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of MSRDC. He continues to hold the post and monitor mega projects like the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Corridor, Versova Bandra Sea-Link, expansion of Mumbai-Pune Expressway and Thane Creek Bridge.

With multiple agencies coming under him, he would oversee the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, Metro projects in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur and the Konkan coastal road.