MUMBAI, June 25 -- The Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided not only to go ahead with the Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway but also to fund the complete process of land acquisition for the project. It has approved a sum of Rs.20,787 crore for acquiring more than 7,500 hectares of land. Of the total amount, Rs.12,000 crore will be taken as a loan from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO). The state cabinet took the decision despite strong resistance from farmers, especially those from western Maharashtra districts. During the meeting, two ministers-medical education minister Hasan Mushrif and state health minister Prakash Abitkar-expressed their reservations about taking the project ahead despite this opposition. Both are from Kolhapur district. The ministers suggested that the state government hold discussions with the affected farmers and try to find a way out of the situation. "They told the cabinet that the Mahayuti coalition had already faced a backlash from farmers during the Lok Sabha elections," revealed a minister privy to the development. "This could be repeated in the upcoming polls if the state government decides to forcibly implement the project." Taking this into consideration, the cabinet approved partial alignment of the project. "It has approved the alignment connecting Pavnar, which falls in Wardha district, to Sangli covering more than 700 km," revealed a senior official from the public works department (PWD). The cabinet also decided to scrap the alignment going through Shirol, Karvir, Hatkanangale, Kagal, Bhudargad and Ajara talukas of Kolhapur district. "Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis directed the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to prepare an alternate alignment for the remaining part of the project connecting Sangli with Sindhudurg district," said another PWD official. "Once this is done, the CM and the two deputy chief ministers will hold consultations with all the stakeholders-local MLAs and ministers among others-before taking a final decision on the alignment." Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar too confirmed that the state government was planning to change the alignment. "When the ministers expressed their concern regarding resistance from farmers and requested Fadnavis to hear them out, he assured them that there was no reason for them to continue with the project if people were opposing it," Pawar told reporters. "The CM also assured them that he would try to change the alignment."...