Several impediments from underground utility services and encroachments in the alignment seem to have derailed the time table of Mumbai makeover.
The McKinsey report highlights the need for fast-paced infrastructure. But Mumbai and its metropolitan region have not shown till date any attempt to fast track big ticket infrastructure projects.
Though government bodies such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) wish to make available state-of-the-art facilities with roads, metro as well as monorail network, flyovers and sea links in the city and its surrounding areas, the snails pace of most projects is a cause of concern.
Several impediments from underground utility services and encroachments in the alignment seem to have derailed the time table of Mumbai makeover.
However, in case of big projects such as the metro, lack of proper planning and foresight is hurting the infrastructure development.
Mumbai Trans Harbour Link: Arguably one of the most ambitious projects, which has the potential to change the face of urban transport of the Mumbai metropolitan region.
A sea link of 18-km plus a road link of close to 4 km connecting Sewri in Central Mumbai with Nhava on the far eastern side of metropolitan region, this project has remained on paper for over four decades.
It was initially conceived by the public works department (PWD), later developed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and now expected to land with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Corporation.
Metro: Work on the first metro between Versova and Ghatkopar is on since February 2008; while work on the second stretch between Charkop and Mankhurd is expected to begin this year end. The government favours overground metro (@ Rs200 crore per km) than underground (@ Rs600 crore per km). Though the first metro- as per the tender contract - is to be completed by March 2012, the contractor- Reliance Infrastructure-led consortium — has promised commissioning by December this year, a deadline most experts feel unrealistic.
Santa cruz-Chembur Link Road: This goes on and on—not the road, it is the project we are talking of. Work on the project began in July 2004 and was expected to be completed by December 2008. The road is a mere 6-km long road connecting east and west of the city’s arterial roads; the road component of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project is partly funded by the World Bank. MMRDA has been justifying the delays by saying that there were huge missing links full of encroachments. Without doubt, the most embarrassing ongoing project for all involved.
Flyovers: Though some of the city flyovers have been completed in record time by the agencies, those at some of the busiest junctions like Suman Nagar at Chembur and roads such as the Peddar Road are delayed beyond schedule for decades now. While authorities blame the traffic police for not giving requisite permissions for delays in Suman Nagar junction flyover; Peddar road has been by large the most controversial flyover project in the city and there is no signing of it dying down.
Sealink: The 4.7-km long Bandra-Worli Sea Link has been fully functional now, but the completion date of the next two stretches—from Worli to Haji Ali and then up to Nariman Point—is anybody’s guess. The Bandra-Worli one took eight years. Moreover, the toll rates may also result in not many taking these sea links and them becoming “premium products”.
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