The state government will introduce a bill in the upcoming Winter Session of legislature for setting up of a Maharashtra Region Development Authority for development work in other cities and towns.
The state government will introduce a bill in the upcoming Winter Session of legislature for setting up of a Maharashtra Region Development Authority for development work in other cities and towns. The proposed authority — on the lines of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) — will work on infrastructure projects such as the Nagpur and Pune Metro, flyovers, smart cities, among others. This authority will also coordinate with the existing civic bodies that are working on the ongoing infrastructure projects.
The bill has been proposed with a view to have a single authority dealing with infrastructure projects in other cities and towns. “Currently, projects such as the Nagpur Metro is led by its municipal corporation. The Maharashtra Region Development Authority is expected to lead all the projects across the state so that handling them will be easier. MMRDA has been doing a good job and so on those lines we will bring in a Bill for the new state authority,” a senior official from the urban development department (UDD) said.
The UDD will present the bill for the state-level authority in the Winter Session of the legislature that will begin from December 7 at Nagpur. The Bill will be tabled in both the houses of legislatures and discussions will be held before passing it. “The authorities will have regional offices in every town so that the focus will be on particular infrastructure work. The details of the Bill will be revealed soon after it is tabled,” the official added.
The MMRDA looks after Mumbai and its surrounding area that has eight corporations and nine councils. It has worked on projects such as the Metro rail, Monorail, flyovers enhancing east-west connectivity in the city and is now working on the smart city initiative announced by the Centre.
