Mumbai roads will be pothole-free in next two-and-half years, says CM Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde. Pic/PTI

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said the roads of Mumbai will be cement concretised and pothole-free in the next two-and-half years, reported PTI.

He was speaking at the launch of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's 'Mumbai Beautification Project' at Gateway of India in Mumbai.

Shinde said within one or two months there will be visible change in the city.

Informing that the BMC had invited bids for cement concretisation works worth Rs 6,000 crore, the CM said he had asked the BMC to give contracts to reputed firms instead of issuing it for small patches (piecemeal).

Shinde further said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked his government to carry out radical change in Mumbai in keeping with its status as the country's financial capital and an international city.

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Speaking on the occasion, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked people of the metropolis to accept some troubles while roads are being concretised as it would result in pothole-free roads for the next 30 years without the need for repairs.

"Repeatedly the same contractor, same work and the same money. Every year this formula was going on. A decision has been taken to stop this formula in the municipal corporation," Fadnavis said, adding there will be transparency while allotting and implementing these works.

Without naming former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray or his Shiv Sena (UBT) party, Fadnavis said those who couldn't come up with these (beautification and cleanliness) initiatives had taken a meeting on Wednesday to bring three-four parties together to come up with a strategy to find flaws in these works and have even formed a task force with this aim.

Mumbai municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said the civic body will complete black topping of 120 kilometres of asphalt roads within 30 to 45 days.

He said as part of the Mumbai beautification project, works such as painting of flyovers, beautification of beaches and traffic islands, painting of walls along major roads, LED lighting on important streets will be carried out.

The work of beautification and cleanliness of forts, Koliwadas and civic gardens has been undertaken and the BMC has also accepted the challenge to construct 10,000 new toilets to improve sanitation, besides upgradation of 3,000 toilets transferred to the civic body by MHADA, Chahal said.

(With inputs from PTI)