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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Palm Beach Road may get flyovers

Navi Mumbai: The arterial Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai could see the construction of flyovers at key junctions to ease persistent traffic congestion, with Navi Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Dr Kailash Shinde agreeing to explore the proposal for creating signal-free movement for through traffic. The proposal was discussed during a meeting between Dr Shinde and representatives of Climate Action Now (CAN) for MMR, a platform of NatConnect Foundation, and Palm Beach Greens on Friday evening....

Palm Beach Road may get flyovers

Navi Mumbai: The arterial Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai could see the construction of flyovers at key junctions to ease persistent traffic congestion, with Navi Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Dr Kailash Shinde agreeing to explore the proposal for creating signal-free movement for through traffic. The proposal was discussed during a meeting between Dr Shinde and representatives of Climate Action Now (CAN) for MMR, a platform of NatConnect Foundation, and Palm Beach Greens on Friday evening. The initiative follows representations made by the BJP legislator Adv Niranjan Davkhare and CAN seeking measures to address growing traffic snarls on the important north-south corridor. NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar and Palm Beach Greens convenor D Shrikant Patki explained that strategically placed flyovers could allow through traffic to bypass several signals, reducing waiting time at intersections and preventing the cascading build-up of vehicles along the corridor. Dr Shinde, while acknowledging the representations from Davkhare and CAN by NatConnect, assured the delegation that he would definitely explore the flyover option. NMMC is already in touch with IIT-Bombay on the Palm Beach Road traffic issue and may also seek its inputs on the proposal. Kumar and Patki had earlier met Davkhare, who represents the Konkan Graduates’ constituency spread across Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane and Palghar districts, to discuss various environmental issues. Davkhare subsequently took up the Palm Beach Road traffic issue with the NMMC Commissioner. The road carries substantial inter-city traffic, with thousands of vehicles heading towards Pune, Alibaug and Goa using Palm Beach Road after diverting from the Sion-Panvel Highway at Vashi. Such traffic adds considerably to the pressure on the corridor, particularly because vehicles have to negotiate multiple signals along the route. The environmental groups proposed a system in which through traffic could move without stopping at major junctions while local traffic continues to use the existing road network. They said such an arrangement could reduce congestion, fuel wastage and vehicular emissions besides improving travel time and road safety. Kumar pointed to worsening congestion on Palm Beach Road and identified Moraj Junction between Vashi and Nerul as a major bottleneck. The representation also highlighted traffic problems at Nerul, T S Chanakya, Akshar and NRI Seawoods junctions. According to the representation, the Moraj Junction bottleneck results in long delays, fuel wastage and inconvenience to thousands of daily commuters. It proposed straight flyovers carrying through traffic in both northbound and southbound directions, enabling vehicles to bypass signals and junction-level congestion.

Unrest within Mahayuti

Updated: Jan 21, 2025

Mahayuti

Mumbai: The state administration on Sunday stalled the appointments of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik districts. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had cleared the appointments before he left for Davos in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum on Saturday. They are believed to have been stalled on behest of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the state in absence of the Chief Minister.


NCP’s Aditi Tatkare and BJP’s Girish Mahajan were entrusted with responsibilities of guardian minister for the Raigad and Nashik districts respectively, where Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale and Dada Bhuse had staked claims. Gogawale is a first-time minister while, Bhuse had been the guardian minister of the district during previous government under Eknath Shinde.


Shiv Sena, NCP and BJP all the three constituents of Mahayuti have strong roots in both the districts. However, the Shiv Sena and the NCP had been particularly on loggerheads there. The Shiv Sena, which had been demanding the guardian minister’s post in Nashik district has managed to win only two assembly seats in the district where the NCP has Six and the BJP has Five MLAs. On the contrary, in Raigad the NCP has won only one seat while the Shiv Sena and the BJP both have Three MLAs each in the district.


Sunil Tatkare, MP from Raigad Lok Sabha constituency and the stat unit president of the NCP and father of Aditi Tatkare, had been the guardian minister of Raigad between 2004 and 2014. Gogawale had always been his political opponent before Tatkare joined the Mahayuti government under Ajit Pawar’s leadership in 2023. Gogawale claimed that all the Six Shiv Sena-BJP MLAs in the district had opined in his favour to be the guardian minister of the district and after the decision to appoint Aditi Tatkare was announced, his supporters resorted to violent protests. They burnt tyres in bid to stall traffic on highway in the district. Reacting to the developments, Tatkare said that the issue should be pondered over after CM Fadnavis returns from Davos on Saturday and settled amicably.


In Nashik Girish Mahajan had been the guardian minister of the district between 2014 and 2019 when Fadnavis was the Chief Minister.


The post of guardian minister doesn’t have any constitutional mandate and is considered to be a political appointment. Guardian ministers head the district planning and development councils (DPDC) that control the funds for development works being carried out in the particular district. This control wields much of political power to the minister in that district whereby spreading the party in the district becomes much easier. This is the reason why the grass root politicians seem to be very sensitive to such appointments.


While Gogawale and Bhuse are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian ministers, some others like NCP’s Hasan Mushrif and BJP’s Pankaja Munde are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian district in their home districts of Kolhapur and Beed respectively. DCM Shinde is learnt to have gone to his ancestral village Dare in Satara district after the decision and BJP’s firefighters Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Girish Mahajan are expected to meet him there to try finding a way out of the issue.

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