Maharashtra: MMRDA drops Sewri-Worli Elevated Road Connector project

Is it planning for a metropolis or lack of planning or creating infrastructure for the profit of private companies? The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) officials have conveniently dropped Sewri-Worli Elevated Road Connector project.

Over a couple of years ago, officials were all for the project to connect Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) with planned Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL). Last year, it was kept "on hold". Now, although MTHL is being implemented, but the plans for Elevated Connector project has been buried by the authorities with no budgetary allocation for this fiscal year.

The latest budget, which was approved a month ago for meeting the expenditures during the financial year 2016-17, no provision has been made for this 4.25-km long Elevated Corridor with an estimated cost of Rs 490.70 crore. But Rs 1,000 crore has been earmarked for 22-km long MTHL valued at Rs 17,500 crore.

In fact, last year it was kept "on hold" for implementing it at a "later stage" and no budget provision was made for the fiscal year 2015-16. The idea to have the Sewri-Worli Connector to bridge BWSL and MTHL was moved when the latter was to be implemented on Public-Private Partnership mode. As per a feasibility report commissioned by the MMRDA on the MTHL and connector projects, 15 per cent of the vehicular traffic on the planned MTHL will trickle in from the Sewri-Worli Connector, thereby increasing toll collection opportunities.

In fact, in March 2013, the MMRDA had even invited bids to have this East-West road connectivity, wherein five companies showed interest by submitting the quotations. On scrutiny, MMRDA officials found that the bids were below the reserved price set by them and the designs too varied.

Constructing the Connector would have been a nightmare for Mumbaikars, as it would have crossed the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) and Harbour Railway lines at Sewri, following the Acharya Donde Marg in Parel, thereafter Dr Ambedkar Road and heading to go over the Central and Western Railway lines at Parel-Elphinston Road Railway Stations. After this, it would have gone above the flyover on Tulsi Pipe Road at a height of 27 meter or 7th floor of a residential building and snaking through Prabhadevi to finally land at Worli.

According to an official, as MTHL was to be a PPP affair, the private infrastructure companies were in favour of the elevated corridor, which the MMRDA was willing to help them with. But, when the bidding process commenced in November 2011 there were six proposals, of which five consortia were shortlisted.

Finally, in August 2013, there was no show from the private players to construct MTHL. Now, MMRDA themselves are in process of erecting the longest sea bridge of India by borrowing 80 per cent of the finances from Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Therefore, the Sewri-Worli Elevated Corridor too has been shelved and may not happen "at a later stage".