India, April 23 -- The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has received approval from the state government for inclusion of additional 294 villages in New Mahabaleshwar Project implemented in Satara district. The government resolution (GR) issued on March 27 cited eight conditions to develop the project spread across protected area or eco sensitive zones.

New Mahabaleshwar project is an ambitious hill station development plan to boost tourism, generate jobs and revenue for local community.

While the initial draft development plan (DP) published by MSRDC covered 235 villages, demand from the other villages led the corporation to include 294 additional villages from Satara, Javali and Patan tehsils in the fresh proposal...