CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Calls for a metro rail service connecting Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar are intensifying, with stakeholders emphasizing that enhanced connectivity between these two industrial hubs could significantly accelerate regional development.
Industrial Hubs Seek Better Links
Located approximately 55 kilometers apart, both cities are emerging as pivotal economic centers in the Marathwada region, driven by industrial growth, infrastructure projects, and expanding employment opportunities. Advocate Mahesh Dhannawat, former vice-president of the Jalna District Bar Association, stated, "The metro service connecting Jalna to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and also covering the industrial nodes of Shendra-Bidkin-Waluj is the need of the hour. Every day, thousands of citizens—particularly workers employed in the Waluj, Shendra, and Bidkin industrial estates, as well as businesspeople and students—commute along this route."
Jalna's Growth Trajectory
Jalna, already recognized as a major steel manufacturing hub, is poised for further growth with the upcoming Dry Port project and improved connectivity through the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway. Entrepreneur Suhas Joshi remarked, "The employment generation will receive a major boost due to the metro rail service between Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar can be easily predicted as 'twin cities' having a common geographical corridor."
Administrative Support
The proposal has garnered support not only among residents and industry representatives but also within administrative circles. Several senior bureaucrats have reportedly emphasized the need for a mass rapid transit system linking the two districts. A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "The elected representatives from both the districts have to join hands for starting a metro rail service between Jalna and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The project will be a game changer in a true sense."
Previous Approvals and Future Plans
The state budget last year approved an elevated corridor project from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Airport to Waluj MIDC in two phases. Stakeholders are now demanding that the project be extended to facilitate a metro rail corridor connecting Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Jalna. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar guardian minister Sanjay Shirsat could not be reached for comment. An email sent to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways remained unanswered until Sunday evening.
