Mumbai will have pothole-free roads within two years, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced. The BMC has proposed to concretise 400 km of roads other than the ongoing work on thoroughfares running up to 236 km. The CM’s claim and the BMC’s numbers appear exciting, but they are far from reality, said activists.  To make Mumbai pothole-free, the civic body will need to build nearly 800 km of concrete roads in two years. 

The corporation could construct only 123 km of concrete roads—against the target of 250 km—in 2020-21. Against its plan to have 505 roads in 2022-23, it could build only 11 till the monsoon arrived. The corporation says concrete roads last longer and reduce the chances of potholes.