BMC gets environmental clearance for bridge connecting Madh Island with Versova

The idea of creating this bridge was floated in 2015. However, the plan did not take off and it was only last year that  the BMC had applied to the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change seeking Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance. The clearance came last month.

The project also faced opposition from members of the local fishing community between 2021 and 2022.

The proposed bridge will be cable-stayed that will pass above the Versova Creek, which is an inlet of the Arabian Sea.

Even though both Versova and Madh are located in the western suburbs, there is no direct road connectivity between the two places and people use the ferry service for their daily conveyance.

However, the ferry service remains suspended for four months during the monsoon season.

Besides this, the only available mode of commute is a 22-km route between Madh Island and Versova through the Western Express Highway (WEH) or S.V. Road which usually takes 45-60 minutes during peak hour.

According to the BMC, once the bridge becomes operational the commute time between the two places will come down to less than ten minutes.

“When we had sent the proposal to the environment ministry last time, we were told to implement some design changes so that it doesn’t affect the flora and fauna and minimum number of mangroves are affected. The new plan for this bridge was also prepared by consulting with the members from the fishing community and tenders are likely to be floated this year,” said an official.

The cost of this project was earlier pegged at Rs 400 crore.  However, the project cot is likely to increase by 50 per cent.

The cable-stayed flyover will be 1.5-km long and 27.5 meters wide.  There will be four lanes on the bridge, with two lanes on each side.

Civic officials also maintained that to ensure minimum damage to the mangroves, temporary culverts will be created during construction works.

Besides this, civic authorities also received clearances for two other bridge projects which they aim to construct in next five years— a vehicular bridge that will pass above Goregaon creek and connect with Andheri; and Dharivali bridge at Marve.

Civic officials have maintained that since all the three bridges run above creeks and mangrove patches, environment clearances were required for BMC before going ahead with floating the tenders.