Infra projects to be completed in 2012-13

Citizens can expect their commuting woes to soon be addressed with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) planning to complete work on major infrastructure projects in the coming financial year.

MMRDA commissioner Rahul Asthana said a number of projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) are expected to be completed this year. They include the MMRDA’s portion of the Sahar elevated road, expected to be completed by July, the Milan rail overbridge which is proposed to open in June though a final decision is pending, the Orange Gate-Wadala stretch of the Eastern Freeway project by December, four lanes on the Anik Panjarpole link road and the Wadala-Chembur monorail.

Asthana said they were planning to commission the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro rail arm in the coming financial year, with civil work being completed by October-November and trial runs by the year end.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who chairs the MMRDA, also approved a Rs4,825crore budget for the financial year 2012-13 on Tuesday.

The budget has allocated Rs870 crore for the monorail, Rs1,460 crore for roads, including the Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP) and the extended MUIP for the MMR, Rs338 crore for the Metro rail and Rs390 crore for the development of water resources in the MMR.

The MMRDA has also allocated Rs660 crore for MUIP components like the Eastern Freeway, Anik-Panjarpole link road, Panjarpol-Ghatkopar link road, Milan rail overbridge and the Sahar elevated road. In addition, Rs338 crore has been allocated for the Metro railway project, including Rs100 crore for the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor, Rs138 crore for the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd arm and Rs100 crore for the underground Colaba-BKC-Seepz link. In order to develop the suburban railway system, Rs290 crore has been allocated under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project-II (MUTP-II).

Asthana said the budget has a Rs1,700 crore deficit as the MMRDA is not monetising its land this year.