Maharashtra government considering indemnity, for bankers funding infrastructure projects

In a bid to boost long-term funding for large infrastructure projects in the state, the Maharashtra government is considering a funding model that indemnifies bankers, who fund such projects With large infrastructure projects worth trillions underway in the state, Maharashtra is looking at revamping its funding model, so that bankers funding such projects will be covered by the government, a senior state official said. The state is on capex spree, with Mumbai alone having over Rs 1 trillion investments in metro lines (seven underway), a new international airport worth Rs 18,000 crores (being developed by the GVK Group that also runs the city airport along with CIDCO). That apart, the government is also working on the over Rs 18,000-crore Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link that will connect the eastern periphery of the city with JNPT and Panvel and a Rs 15,000-core coastal road project on the western waterfront, among others. The state is also planning an elevated fast line on the suburban train line between CST and Panvel. It is also building an expressway between Mumbai and Nagpur at an investment of over Rs 46,000 crores, apart from an airport and metro in the state’s second largest city Pune.