Maharashtra's state bureaucracy faces mounting pressure from the top to operationalize key sections of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway by end-2027, despite cascading delays plaguing the flagship infrastructure project. Originally slated for full completion in October 2025, the 1,386-km corridor spanning six states now eyes partial openings like Delhi-Vadodara by mid-2026, with Gujarat bottlenecks pushing the Vadodara-Mumbai stretch, including Maharashtra segments, to FY28. In Maharashtra, land acquisition hurdles, utility shifting lags, and contractor defaults have slowed progress on spurs to economic hubs like Navi Mumbai's JNPA port, where a 21-km link remains critical. High command directives demand accelerated reviews, accountability enforcement, and stakeholder coordination to meet the revised 2027 target, amid Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's repeated interventions. This push underscores tensions between ambitious deadlines and on-ground execution realities in India's highway revolution.