Mumbai: The Mahayuti government on Tuesday approved funds worth ₹7,613.47 crore for the Nashik Ring Road Project from the corpus under the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority (NTKMA), which has been tasked with planning, managing, and executing infrastructure projects for the 2027 Simhastha Kumbh Mela. To expedite work on the ring road, the government has relaxed norms requiring 100% land acquisition before the issuance of tender to 50%.
While the Simhastha Kumbh Mela will commence in October 2026, visitor numbers are likely to peak in August-September 2026, coinciding with dates for holy dips.
On Tuesday, the cabinet committee on infrastructure granted approval for the 65.60-kilometre Nashik Ring Road, to be constructed by the Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation (MSIDC) at an estimated cost of ₹7,600 crore – including ₹3,659.47 crore on land acquisition and ₹3,954 crore on construction.
The state public works department also issued an order on Tuesday, saying funds for both land acquisition and construction would be provided to MSIDC from the corpus of the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority, as per directives issued by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
Norms on land acquisition pertaining to the tender process have been relaxed to enable quick execution of the project, the order said.
“As per existing norms of the public works department, tendering for any project can commence only after land acquisition is complete or 100%. But considering the urgency of work for the Kumbh Mela, the government has granted special approval to initiate the tender process once approximately 50% of the land acquisition is complete,” an official from the department said, requesting anonymity.
The ring road project is expected to significantly ease traffic congestion in Nashik during the mega religious gathering, the official noted.