How Mumbai turned into limbo city

Despite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC allocating Rs 27000 crore for infrastructure only funds set aside for the first phase of the Coastal Road are being used while budgetary provisions for projects such as sewage treatment plants the concreting of roads and the tunnel of the GoregaonMulund Link Road are gathering dust Even the civic bodyrsquos proposal to be made the metropolisrsquos sole planning authority exists only on paperThe civic body announced a Rs 52619crore budget for 202324 despite having an estimated revenue of Rs 34451 crore THE BMC planned to fetch Rs 18746 crore from fixed deposits FDs to support crore projects worth Rs 27247 The BMC had R86400 crore in FDs at the end of March 2023 and the amount is even after a yearRoad woesThe BMC floated tenders worth Rs 6080 crore excluding 18 per cent GST for the concreting of 400 km of roads across the city in November 2022 and made a provision of Rs 2825 crore for roads and the traffic department Tenders for concreting stretches totalling 450 km in length havenrsquot been floated yet Civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal assured the high court on September 30 2022 that the BMC would concrete all roads within two and half yearsThe stretch on LBS Marg in Ghatkopar that lacks a footpath The BMC was to map footpath facilities but it has failed to do so PicSameer MarkandeThe civic body issued a termination notice to the contractor appointed for south Mumbai in October 2023 and issued a fresh tender in December But the Bombay High Court put a stay on the new etender Roadwork in the suburbs is going on at a snails speed as the construction of sideline drains and footpaths and laying utility ducts takes time As per the BMCrsquos claim in the year 202223 166 km of roads have been concretised including last years spillover worksMissing footpath mapAs per Chahalrsquos budget speech this year the BMC was supposed to map existing footpath facilities for all major roads that are more than nine metres wide and take note of footpaths that are not in good shape A token provision of R200 crore was made for this work However the BMC hasnrsquot come up with any such mapCoastal RoadThe part of the Coastal Road from Priyadarshini flyover to Worli was supposed to be completed in November 2023 The BMC had completed 69 per cent of the work by December 2022 and spent R6740 crore by that month The BMC made a provision of R3545 crore in the current financial year and the road is now 90 per cent complete The cost of the project is around R13000 crore including taxes It will be partially opened in March 2024 Though there were a few delays most of the work is on the fast trackCoastal Road work in progress at Worli on August 29 2023 PicAshish RajeSewage treatment plantsThe BMC awarded works related to seven wastewater treatment facilities in 2022 The plants are at Worli Bandra Dharavi Versova Malad Bhandup and Ghatkopar In January 2023 The cost of the overall project is R27310 crore and the BMC set aside Rs 2792 crore for it in 202324 The plants at Dharavi Bandra and Worli were in dispute as a large number of trees around 2000 had to be uprooted to set them upAfter objections the BMC informed the contractors of the Bandra and Worli projects to make design changes to accommodate more trees The Malad plant is facing mangroverelated issues and the BMC will submit a compliance report to the high court soon Except for the Malad one the plantsrsquo excavation work has started said a civic official But the provision may not be utilised in the current yearBridgesThe demolition and reconstruction of 14 bridges major structural repairs of nine bridges and minor repairs of 16 bridges have been in progress for some time The Teli Galli and Delisle Road bridges were completed in this financial year The BMC made a provision of R2100 crore for the bridges department and though most of its work is incomplete the budget is being used for spillover workThe BEST was allotted Rs 800 crore in aid this financial year Representation PicParking appFor the past five years the BMC has been tantalising citizens with a parking app The commissioner said in the 202324 budget speech that all 32 public parking lots PPL offstreet parking and 91 onstreet parking places would be regulated due to which citizens will have better service The BMC hasnrsquot floated a tender in this regard in the past 10 monthsBEST assistanceThe BMC allotted Rs 800 crore to the BEST as financial assistance this financial year and the first instalment of Rs 500 crore was handed out in November 2023Single planning authorityThe BMC had submitted a letter to the chief secretary of the state to appoint it as the metropolisrsquos only planning authority ldquoThough the Western and Eastern Express Highways were handed over to the BMC the decision to make the civic body the sole planning authority of Mumbai is with the state governmentrdquo said a senior BMC officialBMC SpeakWhile an official admitted to midday that amounts provided for infrastructure projects such as sewage treatment plants and the Goregaon Mulund Link Road tunnel havenrsquot been utilised yet Chahal said ldquoThe BMC has undertaken many big projects which will take a few years to complete Sometimes work is delayed for reasons that are beyond our control like environmental clearances but the project takes a leap the next yearrdquoRs 52619 crWorth of BMC budget for 202324