Bridge the gap: Nonchalance of BMC towards small works

The audit report of bridges and foot-over-bridges (FOB) that came last months revealed that 18 of the 296 bridges and FoBs are in extremely dilapidated condition and need immediate reconstruction. Some of the these FoBs and bridges are very small and can be reconstructed easily with very less expenditure.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which shows great enthusiasm in executing the Rs 12,000 crore Coastal Road Project, takes months and years to reconstruct small, hardly 10-20 metre FoBs that need immediate attention.

After Gokhale bridge in Andheri collapsed in July, the need to repair other dilapidated bridges was felt. The civic body then came up with a plan to reconstruct all such bridges and FoBs. Of the 18 bridges and FoBs singled out, 14 come under BMC, while the remaining are with other agencies, including the Railways.

The two FoBs in Mulund and Ghatkopar are hardly 20-metre long and are used by pedestrians. According to residents, the civic body only carried out temporary work after Gokhale bridge collapsed. Many of these bridges requiring repair are in slum areas and are used by pedestrians. A bridge in Ramnagar Chowk Bihari Tekdi that falls under R South ward of BMC was left incomplete. A tin plate was placed to fill up the incomplete space. Even the bridge over a nullah in Walbhat Road in Borivali East is in extremely poor condition.

The reason for the delay in the repair work vary from administrative procedures like the general arrangement drawing (GAD) of some of the bridges to soil investigation of some others. Similarly, a bridge in Mukund Colony in Ghatkopar (west), falls in private land, so the civic body never bothered to ask the housing society concerned to work on it.

The BMC audit report states, around 110 bridges are in good condition, while 107 need minor repair and 61 bridges need major repair. The civic body spent around Rs 3 crore in conducting the audit.

A senior official from BMC's Bridge Department said the proposal to reconstruct all such dilapidated FoBs and bridges will be tabled before the Standing Committee for approval and work will start soon.