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Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, recently unveiled the ‘Mumbai Next’initiative to expedite the long pending infrastructure projects in Mumbai. Unless these projects are executed, the dream of making Mumbai a world class financial centre will remain unfulfilled.
Right after assuming office, CM Fadnavis announced that his first priority would be to bring in co-ordination among the multiple agencies which are developing infrastructure projects in Mumbai. Around 24 entities are involved in the execution of 101 infra projects planned for Mumbai.
At the Mumbai Next conference held on 6 February 2015, the newly elected state government set deadlines for three of Mumbai’s crucial infrastructure projects, including a timeline of two years to complete the coastal road project.
The Rs 8,500 crore project envisages development of coastal freeway of 35.6 km between Nariman Point in South Mumbai and Kandivli in Mumbai suburb to decongest the western side of the city. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), which is also the promoter of the project, has allocated Rs 200 crore for the coastal road in its annual budget for 2015-16. Preparations for the feasibility report and the DPR are at advanced stages and the CM has already urged the central government to issue environmental clearance to this project on a priority basis.
The state government is also keen to commission the long delayed Navi Mumbai International Airport by 2019 and commence work on the equally delayed Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link project by the end of 2015.
The Rs 18,000 crore airport project was envisaged in 1997 but has failed to take off so far. As of now, four bidders have been shortlisted to submit the financial bid for the project. The contract is likely to be awarded by October 2015.
Similarly, the Rs 9,630 crore Trans-harbour project has also been pending for a record 30 years now and is presently awaiting clearance from the environment and the shipping ministries.
The CM has created a special team of senior bureaucrats and people called the “War Room” to focus exclusively on crucial infrastructure projects, which have been stuck for more than two to three years, and to remove all bottlenecks in their way.
Three other transport projects crucial for easing the growing traffic congestion in the island city are Metro Phase-II expansion between Dahisar and Mankhurd via Charkop and Bandra; Metro Phase-III between Colaba and SEEPZ and Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali Metro corridor.
As of 15 January 2015, there are 101 infrastructure projects worth Rs 2,06,039 crore across the city. Executing the above mentioned mega infra projects is not going to be an easy task. If the CM and his War Team manage to complete these projects in time, it would go a long way in solving some of Mumbai’s problems.
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