December 15, 2025: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday announced a wide-ranging set of infrastructure, transport, and governance initiatives, including a new Mumbai–Hyderabad expressway, expansion of Mumbai’s Metro network, annual reductions in domestic electricity tariffs, and the development of a new business district in Nagpur. Responding to the concluding week debate on the final day of the state legislature’s winter session, Fadnavis said the government was prioritising faster connectivity, improved urban mobility, stronger law enforcement, and relief from rising living costs.
He announced the Jankalyan Expressway, a 450-km access-controlled corridor linking Mumbai and Hyderabad via Kalyan and Latur, at an estimated cost of Rs 36,000 crore. The project will reduce the current Mumbai–Hyderabad distance of 707–717 km to about 530 km and cut travel time between Mumbai and Latur to nearly four-and-a-half hours. The expressway will pass through Thane, Pune, Ahilyanagar, Beed, and Latur districts, while connectivity with Atal Setu and a proposed Badlapur tunnel is expected to bring Mumbai–Badlapur travel time down to around 35 minutes.
On urban transport, Fadnavis said Mumbai presently has a 91-km operational Metro network with a daily ridership of about 9.5 lakh. This will be expanded to 132 km within two years, with at least 50 km of new corridors becoming operational annually. Pune currently has 33 km of Metro lines in service, while Nagpur has 40 km operational.
Addressing law and order, he said overall crime in the state had declined, even as certain categories needed sustained focus. He acknowledged that rape cases rose by 375 between January and October compared to the same period in 2024, but said total crime cases fell by 7,711. He attributed improved conviction rates—rising from 9% to 96.24%, and over 70% for serious offences—to the three new criminal laws that limit adjournments and mandate faster trials.
Fadnavis said police response time to dial 112 emergencies had reduced to an average of 7.37 minutes. He added that 99% of crimes against women were being converted into FIRs, charge sheets were filed in 87% of such cases, and nearly all missing children cases had been traced. Highlighting cybercrime enforcement, he said Mahacyber had cracked down on fake calls, cyber fraud, and “digital arrest” scams, preventing at least 100 suicides.
On energy and regional growth, he announced a 2% annual cut in domestic power tariffs for five years. He also outlined plans for an air training centre in Amravati and the development of ‘Navin Nagpur’, a 1,710-hectare business district expected to generate over 500,000 jobs.
Source: Hindustan Times
