In a major infrastructure push, the Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday approved an allocation of Rs 20,787 crore for the ambitious ‘Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Expressway.’ Spanning 802 km, the high-speed corridor will connect Pavnar in Wardha district to Patradevi on the Maharashtra-Goa border in Sindhudurg, significantly reducing travel time between Nagpur and Goa from 18 hours to just eight, according to officials, as per a PTI report. Chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the cabinet meeting discussed the expressway鈥檚 alignment through 12 districts: Wardha, Yavatmal, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur, and Sindhudurg. Wherever there is opposition to the project for fear of land acquisition, talks should be held with the local farmers, the chief minister said at the meeting. According to officials, the expressway aims to connect key pilgrimage sites such as Mahur, Tuljapur, Kolhapur and Pandharpur in addition to prominent spiritual and historical places like Ambajogai, two `Jyotirlings’ of Aundha Nagnath and Parli Vaijnath; Karanja- Lad, Akkalkot, Audumber and Narsobachi Wadi. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will implement the project, and HUDCO has sanctioned a loan of Rs 12,000 crore for the acquisition of nearly 7,500 hectares of land, officials said. The expressway aims to link all `Shaktipeeths’ in the state and develop rural areas through tourism and connectivity, they added. (With PTI inputs)