In a slew of development initiatives aimed at giving a boost to  prospects of the BJP-led MahaYuti (grand alliance) in the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls,  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone, inaugurated and dedicated to the nation various projects, including the inauguration of the Pune Metro Rail Project (Phase-1) and the revamped Solapur airport —worth more than Rs 11,200 crore in western Maharashtra.

Through video-conferencing, Modi — who was to visit Pune and launch various projects on September 26 but cancelled his trip to Maharashtra due to inclement weather – inaugurated the Pune Metro section from District Court to Swargate, laying the foundation stone for Swargate-Katraj Extension of the Pune Metro section.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Solapur Airport which would significantly improve connectivity, making the western Maharashtra city more accessible to tourists, business travellers and investors. The existing terminal Building of Solapur airport has been revamped to serve around 4.1 lakh passengers annually.

Modi dedicated the nation to Bidkin Industrial Area, a transformative project covering an expansive 7,855 acres under the National Industrial Corridor Development Program of Govt. of India, situated 20 km south of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra.   The Bidkin Industrial Area project — developed under Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor -- holds immense potential as a vibrant economic hub in the Marathwada region. The Central Government has approved this project with an overall project cost of over Rs 6,400 crore for development in 3 phases. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the Memorial for Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule’s First Girls’ School at Bhidewada.

Even before the announcement of the schedule for the Maharashtra Assembly  by the Election Commission of India (ECI), Modi has reached out to people in four regions in the state. On August 25, Modi addressed “Lakhpati Didi Sammelan” at Jalgaon in north Maharashtra on August 25, laid a foundation stone for Rs 76,000 crore Vadhvan Port at Palghar in coastal Konkan region August 30 and participated in the first anniversary function  of the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana at Wardha in Vidarbha region. Today, he launched projects worth Rs 11, 200 meant for western Maharashtra.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi said:”Today, Maharashtra needs big goals with new resolutions. We need to make cities like Pune a center of progress and urban development. Keeping in view Pune’s progress and the pressure of the growing population, We need to take steeps to augment development and capacity of the city. To achieve this goal, the Prime Minister said that the our government in Maharashtra is working with the approach of modernizing Pune’s public transport and giving a boost to connectivity as the city expands”.

He underscored the importance of development-driven governance in ensuring Maharashtra’s progress, emphasizing that any disruption in this continuity leads to significant losses for the state. He highlighted various stalled projects, from Metro initiatives to the Mumbai.

Recalling the discussions about Pune Metro began in 2008 but its foundation stone was laid in 2016 when quick decisions were taken by his government, the Prime Minister said: “Today, Pune Metro is gaining speed and expanding. On  one hand, Pune Metro section of District Court to Swargate has been inaugurated while on the other hand foundation stone for Swargate to Katraj line has also been laid”.

Lauding the work done for the expansion of Pune Metro from 2016 till now, Modi said: “The present government in Maharashtra has prepared a modern network of metro in Pune while the previous government could barely construct a single Metro pillar in 8 years”

Modi underscored the importance of development-driven governance in ensuring Maharashtra’s progress, emphasizing that any disruption in this continuity leads to significant losses for the state.