25% concretisation works done in eastern, western suburbs: BMC

The road works were taken up following the announcement of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who in August 2022 had said Mumbai will be made pothole-free by concretising all the existing roads of Mumbai.

Following this, the BMC had floated a Rs 6,000 crore tender aiming to concretise 397km of roads in Mumbai. The work order for initiating these works were issued on January 2023, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out a bhoomi poojan for the same at a rally in Mumbai’s BKC.

“So far, approximately 25% of the concretisation works in eastern and western suburbs have been completed. The work is yet to begin at island city,” said a senior official.

“Right now no new roads are being dug up, considering monsoon is just days away. We have also fixed a deadline that all the roads that have been dug up will be made motorable by June, 7, before the total landfall of monsoon,” added the official.

For the island city, the BMC scrapped the contract with the previous tender owing to the delay in starting the work and a new tender was floated. Civic officials on Monday told Express that bids have been submitted by contractors and negotiation for awarding the work is ongoing.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Aaditya Thackeray questioned the BMC’s progress of road concretisation in ground. “Since the monsoons are almost here, I have a few questions for the @mybmc :- 1) What is the exact status of mega (scam) road works initiated on 18th January 2023 2) I have pointed out multiple times that almost 15 of the 24 wards in Mumbai don’t have Assistant Commissioners (full time). What is the status of the same? In the monsoons, they need to work as mini- municipal commissioners. 3) What is the status of the underground rain water holding tank near Milan Subway, that we had initiated in 2021. By 2023 mid it should have been made fully.We had modelled this on the one me made at Gandhi Market and Hind Mata,” read Aaditya’s post in social media site X.

Commenting on the Thackeray’s post, civic officials said, “The holding tank near Milan Subway is ready and will be fully operational during monsoon.”

Mumbai has a road network of 2,000km, of which approximately 1,000km is already being concretised. Under the Rs 6,000 crore programme, the BMC aimed to concretise the remaining roads over a two-year period.