Maharashtra chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan, has given his approval to Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) to construct service roads to the new Subroto Roy Sahara India (SRSI) Stadium at Gahunje village, near Mumbai-Pune expressway.
The MCA had sought the intervention of Chavan since the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation was reluctant to take up the project due to paucity of fund.
During the 45-minute meeting with Chavan, it was decided that MCA would bear the cost of making the approach roads, which is about Rs20 crore. And later, the state government would reimburse the amount to MCA.
"We are grateful to Chavan for intervening in the matter and giving his nod to go ahead with the project," remarked the MCA president, Ajay Shirke, who was one of the two members that met Chavan and discussed the issue.
There would be two service roads — one on the Pune-Mumbai stretch of the expressway and the other from Mumbai to Pune stretch— that would take vehicles to the stadium.
With the service road issue resolved, MCA authorities are confident that this cricket stadium is all set to open its doors to international cricket and domestic games in the near future.
The stadium is being constructed at a cost of about Rs300 crore — Sahara group has shelled out Rs200 crore and MCA Rs100 crore.
"It will be one of best stadiums in the country," remarked Shirke.
Earlier, the city-based Nehru Stadium used to host international cricket for many decades.
But since the Board for Control of Cricket in India has made it mandatory to have international facilities for cricketing venues, Shirke took up the challenge of building a new stadium.
The stadium has a seating capacity of 65,000 and will have underground parking. It boasts of a pillarless dome to ensure that no spectator complains about the view being blocked.
