Citizens committee photograph incomplete work of Mumbai roads

Taking matters into their own hands following an unprecedented delay in the completion of Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR), a group of citizens from the Citizens Transport Committee on Sunday photographically documented portions of the bridge to build pressure on authorities. They also identified 13 areas along the stretch where work could have begun long ago as there are no encroachments or project-affected people.

Termed an engineering marvel by the National Geographic Society, the SCLR project which began in 2003, is stuck in a maze of encroachments and red tape, making it the city’s most-delayed road connectivity project.

“The SCLR has become a joke. It has been more than seven years since the project began. While one contractor is working at a furious pace, the other is sitting idle,” said Jitendra Gupta of the Citizen’s Transport Committee, who is spearheading the campaign. Construction work on one section of the project has been stalled due to a squabble between the contractor and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) over price re-negotiations.

“While the authorities are saying the delay has happened because of project-affected people and encroachments, we have identified spots where engineering work could begin immediately,’’ he added. Gupta demanded that the chief minister inspect the spots and take interest in the matter.

“The ramps at Kurla junction over LBS Road are ready and could solve the problem. The same is the case with the bridge and railway junction where concretisation work could begin at once,’’ said local resident Devendra Gupta.

“There are stretches where work has just stopped and it has become a dumping ground for construction material,” said another resident Rajubhai More.

However, an official associated with the project said the SCLR project is ‘mega-scale’. “The delay is project-specific and actual work on the SCLR began in 2007, not 2003, since the World Bank had suspended the loan for some period,” he added.