Transport hub at Karodi still on the back-burner

Aurangabad, Jan 20:

The proposed transport hub at Karodi on the outskirts of Aurangabad city is still a distant dream, drawing sharp reactions from stakeholders.

The proposed transport hub at Karodi was expected to minimize traffic of heavy vehicles in the city besides serving as a one-stop solution for different needs of transporters. However, the project which was envisaged in the ‘Vision 2020’ document around a decade ago is still on paper. A private company and transport association had submitted two separate development plans to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), but the authorities have no time to approve the plan. According to stakeholders, the revenue department authorities had also proposed land of around 65-acre for the project at Karodi. Despite repeated follow-ups with the government authorities and public representatives, the transport hub has witnessed no progress. The facility could have been vital for the growing city like Aurangabad, which witnesses huge movement of the commercial vehicles, activists said. The decision to set up a transport hub at Karodi was taken by the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on October 4, 2016 in a cabinet meeting to solve the traffic congestion in the city. MSRDC was entrusted with the responsibility of setting up the hub. On November 3, 2017, the then district collector had transferred 24 hectares of government land in gut no. 24 at Karodi to MSRDC.

Development plan a year ago

A Mumbai-based Forestake company as a project management consultant (PMC) as an expert consultant for the preparation of project reports. The company prepared a development plan a year ago, which was revised three times, but officials at the MSRDC headquarters in Mumbai have not approved the plan. The Aurangabad Transport Association had prepared a new development plan at its own expense and submitted it to the MSRDC.

Will meet MSRDC managing director

Fayyaz Khan, president of the transport association said,we are constantly following up for setting up a transport hub at Karodi. But there is no action at the government and administrative level. The organization has sent a letter to the MSRDC managing director for a meeting. Local public representatives should follow up to speed up the work.