Green Signal For the Coastal Road Project by the Standing Committee
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) standing committee gave a green signal for the ambitious coastal road project, the entire project is proposed for around 12,000 crores.
The 9.98 km Coastal Road would link Marine Drive to the south end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) and would include an undersea tunnel of 6.8 km which would run from Marine Lines to Priyadarshini Park. It is expected to reduce travel time by 70%.
The coastal road project work is divided into three phases and the work is expected to commence simultaneously under the guidance of civic authorities.
“We have set an 48 months deadline for the contractors for the completion of the work and penalties will be levied if any delay. To ensure that work progresses as per schedule, 10 key dates have been set with specific targets, and penalties would be levied on contractors as well as the consultant for missing the deadlines.”
– said BMC Civic Commissioner Ajoy Mehta.
“Mobilisation of resources will start from October and we are aiming to start the construction by end of October. We have taken care of that there will be no more escalation in the price of the project” he added.
Four years the plan was proposed for 5,000 crores, however today the final cost of expenditure for the project is expected to be around 12,000 crores.
Reasons behind the rise in the cost of the proposed coastal road project are claimed to be the rise in fuel prices, insurances, and rise in steel prices in the international market.
“A part of the project cost may not be used. For instance, we have kept four percent as a contingency fund. Along with this, around Rs 1,700 crore are government taxes.” said senior official.
Credit game has begun in the house, as Shivsena claims this coastal road project as an ideology of Shivsena Head Uddhav Thackrey and Bjp claims lion share of CM Devendra Fadnavis in granting the permission for the project.
