Navi Mumbai: The sprawling Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) at Vashi will not be shifted, but only be modernised under a redevelopment plan, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, while addressing a BJP election rally at Airoli on Monday. He also urged people not to believe rumours that the wholesale market yard would move to a distant location in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Fadnavis said the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) would be named after PAP leader and ‘son of the soil’ the late D B Patil, citing local sentiment and noting that the airport was developed on land surrendered by villagers. He also said that the proposed Poshir dam on the outskirts of Navi Mumbai, which is expected to supply around 1,000 million litres per day (MLD), will cater to Navi Mumbai’s future water needs.Fadnavis said his govt allocated Rs 750 crore for the expansion of Kalamboli junction to decongest traffic. This junction is the merging point of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Sion-Panvel Highway, Atal Setu, NMIA, JNPA-Panvel Highway and Mumbai-Goa Highway. Fadnavis further said that work on the Virar-Alibaug corridor project will soon be kicked off, and the Navi Mumbai and Mumbai Metro corridors would be integrated for seamless travel.Hailing forest minister Ganesh Naik, Fadnavis said his long-pending demand for the conversion of leasehold land to freehold would be done very soon to allow leaseholders property ownership rights. He added: “The Laadki Bahini scheme will continue as long as I am the chief minister of the state, and the sisters will be helped to become lakhpati with support of his govt.”
