Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday defended the state government’s infrastructure initiatives in Mumbai, particularly the city’s road concretisation programme, while outlining progress on major development projects, housing schemes and long-term economic plans.
Addressing concerns raised over tree falls during the monsoon, Fadnavis said the government would take expert advice to assess the health of Mumbai’s trees. He directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to consult arborists to examine older trees, identify weak root systems and decide whether they can be restored or need removal for safety reasons.
Defending the concretisation of Mumbai’s roads, the Chief Minister said the programme was aimed at improving road durability and reducing maintenance requirements. He announced that the government’s target is to convert 95% of Mumbai’s road network into concrete roads by May 2027. Out of the city’s total 2,050 km road network, around 1,913 km is expected to be concretised.
Work on Mumbai's 2050-km concrete road project is progressing rapidly and by 2027, 95% of the city's roads will be concrete.
मुंबईतील 2050 किमी लांबीच्या काँक्रीट रस्ते प्रकल्पाचे काम वेगाने सुरू असून, 2027 पर्यंत शहरातील 95% रस्ते काँक्रीटचे असतील.
(विधानसभा, मुंबई | दि. 8… pic.twitter.com/KKyJ36Hm4y
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 8, 2026
Fadnavis said nearly 89% of Phase I and 73% of Phase II of the project have already been completed. Citing the example of Nagpur, he said concrete roads there had remained in good condition for nearly three decades and added that such roads were necessary for Mumbai due to its heavy rainfall conditions.
He also said the concretisation drive had helped reduce road repair expenses, with the cost of repairing potholes declining from ₹203 crore in 2023 to ₹45 crore in 2025.
The Chief Minister highlighted several large-scale infrastructure projects underway across Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including the Goregaon-Mulund tunnel, North Coastal Road, flyovers, railway overbridges and East-West connectivity corridors.
He said the government is working towards transforming the MMR into an economic hub and aims to achieve an $825 billion economy by 2047. The development roadmap includes 30 new business hubs, 30 transport projects, expanded Metro networks, Water Metro services, EduCity, new housing projects and the development of the proposed Third and Fourth Mumbai.
According to Fadnavis, infrastructure projects worth ₹12.26 lakh crore are currently under execution or planned over the next three years.
Fadnavis said the state government is promoting self-redevelopment, MHADA-led cluster redevelopment and the Dharavi Redevelopment Project as part of its urban transformation plans.
He said the Dharavi redevelopment project is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi within the next one-and-a-half years, with around 10,000 homes expected to be ready by then. He added that industrial units under the project would not be charged GST for the first five years.
The Chief Minister said MHADA plans to construct around 1.08 lakh homes, while the Dharavi project will rehabilitate nearly 1.6 lakh residential, commercial and industrial units. Under self-redevelopment schemes, residents may be able to upgrade from 600 sq ft homes to larger units ranging between 1,200 and 1,400 sq ft.
Fadnavis also addressed criticism surrounding the Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s ‘Missing Link’ project after a landslide caused temporary traffic disruption.
Calling the project an engineering milestone, he said the disruption was managed quickly and traffic movement was restored within 18 hours. He added that experts from IIT are being consulted to recommend corrective measures and improve the project further.
Responding to criticism of the project, Fadnavis said development initiatives should not be targeted for political reasons and emphasised the importance of supporting Maharashtra’s infrastructure growth.
The Chief Minister highlighted ongoing cultural projects, including the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Memorial at Indu Mill and the Balasaheb Thackeray Memorial, both expected to be completed by January 2027.
He also said Maharashtra’s mangrove cover has increased from 302.70 sq km to 315.09 sq km since 2021, reflecting an addition of 12.4 sq km.
Fadnavis further assured the Assembly that the government would consider various pending demands, including issues related to the Funnel Zone, PTS and PAP housing, extension of the additional 0.5 FSI benefit, a unified public transport ticketing system and the approved DPR for extending Metro Line 2B to Chita Camp-Koliwada.