275 roads, Rs 380 crore work pending as BMC moves to drop two contractors

This is the first time since the project was launched in 2023 that the civic authorities are officially revoking contractors’ contracts. In total, the BMC has awarded contracts worth Rs 17,700 crore for concretising 2,175 roads across the island city and the eastern and western suburbs, covering 712 km.

The road-concretisation project was the brainchild of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who had announced that all existing asphalt roads in Mumbai would be converted to concrete roads to address the problem of potholes.

Speaking to The Indian Express, senior officials confirmed the move and said the proposal had been sent to Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide for final approval.

Officials said work had yet to begin on multiple roads in south Mumbai, particularly in Churchgate, Colaba and Nariman Point. They also said progress in the eastern suburbs had been slow and that the contractors had failed to accelerate work despite multiple warnings.

“The deadline for the contractors to finish the work is in March 2027, but the current pace at which work is progressing clearly shows that reaching this target is very unlikely. Therefore, we have told the contractors to only finish the ongoing work where the roads have been dug up already and not to start any new work as the remaining part of the tender will be revoked,” an official told The Indian Express.

Officials said that after the contracts are revoked, the BMC will float a fresh tender for concreting the remaining roads. The new tender is likely to be floated early next year.

The BMC’s road-concretisation dashboard shows that in the island city, covering areas between Nariman Point and Byculla, 335 roads were taken up for concretisation. Of these, 146 have been completed, while work on the remaining roads is either partially complete or yet to begin.

Similarly, in the eastern suburbs, 363 roads between Mankhurd and Mulund were taken up for concretisation. Of these, 211 have been completed, while work on the remaining roads is either partially complete or yet to begin.

When contacted, the two contractor agencies said they had not received any communication about the proposed revocation of their contracts.

“We were given 182 roads for concretisation. These roads were located in areas like Mankhurd, Chembur, Ghatkopar and Mulund in the eastern suburbs. We have completed work in 154 of them and have handed them over to the civic body,” a spokesperson for Eagle Infra told The Indian Express.

“In south Mumbai, especially in areas like Marine Drive, Churchgate, Colaba and Malabar hill there is a logistical issue. Being a VIP area the roads cannot be closed for a maximum of four hours, therefore we get a very short window for completing the work. Plus, in Mumbai, there are four months of monsoon, where no work could be carried out. These factors come into play and delay the progress of work severely,” a spokesperson for NCC Limited told The Indian Express.

The work order for the project was issued in January 2023 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out a Bhoomi Poojan (groundbreaking ceremony) for the project.