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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 7:24:18 pm

Shilphata road widening cleared

Mumbai: The long-pending widening and concretisation of the Kalyan-Shilphata Road has cleared a major hurdle, with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) taking a decision to provide compensation of around Rs 138 crore to landowners affected by the project. The decision is expected to pave the way for the resumption of stalled work on the crucial road, which connects Kalyan-Dombivli with Thane and Navi Mumbai and serves as an important link for daily commuters and...

Shilphata road widening cleared

Mumbai: The long-pending widening and concretisation of the Kalyan-Shilphata Road has cleared a major hurdle, with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) taking a decision to provide compensation of around Rs 138 crore to landowners affected by the project. The decision is expected to pave the way for the resumption of stalled work on the crucial road, which connects Kalyan-Dombivli with Thane and Navi Mumbai and serves as an important link for daily commuters and commercial traffic. The widening project had been delayed for several years because of disputes over land acquisition and compensation. Several affected landowners had opposed the terms of compensation for land acquired for the project, resulting in work remaining incomplete at various stretches. The issue was taken up in the presence of Kalyan Lok Sabha MP Dr Shrikant Shinde. Following discussions, MSRDC Vice Chairman and Managing Director Anilkumar Gaikwad handed over letters regarding compensation to the affected landowners. The MSRDC has approved approximately Rs 138 crore as compensation for the land acquired for the road project. The decision is significant as the Kalyan-Shilphata Road is one of the region’s busiest arterial routes. Incomplete widening work and bottlenecks along the road have been contributing to severe traffic congestion, particularly around Kalyan, Dombivli, Ambernath and Badlapur, affecting motorists travelling towards Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. Dr Shinde and local people’s representatives had been following up on the issue of compensation with the authorities. The latest decision is expected to facilitate the acquisition of the remaining land required for the project and enable MSRDC to accelerate the pending civil works. According to officials and local representatives, once the compensation-related issues are resolved, work on widening and concretisation can progress at a faster pace. Completion of the project is expected to significantly improve traffic movement along the corridor and reduce congestion at key junctions. The improved road will also provide better connectivity to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is expected to complement the upcoming Metro Line 12 and Metro Line 12A projects. The development of supporting infrastructure along the corridor is expected to further strengthen connectivity between Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. The project had faced opposition from farmers and landowners because of disagreements over compensation for land acquired for road construction. With the MSRDC now approving the compensation package, officials expect the principal obstacle to the project to be removed. Local residents and commuters have long demanded completion of the widening work, pointing out that unfinished stretches, narrow sections and bottlenecks have resulted in persistent traffic snarls. The latest decision is therefore being viewed as an important step towards completing the long-awaited Kalyan-Shilphata Road upgrade and easing pressure on the region’s road network.

Clever seat selection helped BJP to secure historic win

The party won 65 seats against Congress, 37 against NCP (SP) and 29 against Shiv Sena (UBT)

Clever seat selection

Mumbai: The BJP’s strategic seat sharing with the allies has proved beneficial for the party. An analysis of the Assembly election results show that the BJP has scored over its main rival, the Congress, in a big way because of the direct fights.


The analysis shows that BJP defeated all three constituents of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) – in the direct fights. This is attributed as one of the reasons for the BJP’s historic poll success.


The BJP contested 147 out of 288 seats. In 76 constituencies, it faced Congress. BJP secured victory in 65 seats and lost only 11 seats, making it a whopping 86 per cent of the total direct fights. This was followed by an even stronger performance against NCP (SP). Of the total 39 fights with Sharad Pawar’s party, BJP captured 37 seats making it 95 per cent of the total fights with NCP (SP). BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) were head-to-head in 32 constituencies, of which BJP emerged victorious in 29 seats, making this 91 per cent of the total direct contests.


According to a BJP strategist the party had bargained hard with its allies, Shiv Sena and NCP to get the desired constituencies in the seat sharing formula. “We had studied to potential candidates of the MVA. That helped us in choosing the seats where we can register comfortable victories,” the strategist said.


BJP spokesperson Niranjan Shetty attributed the success to all the party workers who worked hard to boost development, infrastructure in the state. He gave credit to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his contribution to the party’s success.


Shetty pointed out that in 2019, Uddhav Thackeray had stalled all the “novel” and “legendary” projects that Fadnavis had started when he had taken over as CM, making it very easy for the people of Maharashtra to strike a comparison between both the leaders and the potential they had for serving the people. “Devendra Fadnavis gave up his post very easily for the larger good. There are many such examples like Venkaiah Naidu who was BJP National President and later worked as the Vice President of India because that was the need of the hour. We seldom care about our posts,” Shetty told The Perfect Voice.


Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe refused to call the election results as the people’s mandate. “This is not at all a Janata mandate. Despite Maharashtra struggling with so many basic social issues, how can BJP acquire such a huge mandate is the question. If a student copies and fails with just passing marks, it can go unnoticed, but if a student copies and bags the number one position, something is fishy. Why is the BJP scared of ballot papers?” he said.

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