BMC imposes penalty of Rs 50 lakh on GMLR project contractor for delay in works

However, the officials maintained that following an inspection it was revealed that the appointed contractor is yet to complete a substantial portion of the pending works.

“The flyover is supposed to have 31 pillars. However, so far only 20 have been completed. In our inspection, we found out that the work was being carried out at a very slow pace for which a penalty of Rs 50 lakh have been imposed on the appointed contractor,” said a civic official. Further, the official added that the deadline of the first phase remain unchanged and the bridge will be opened for public by May this year.

The flyover will have six vehicular lanes along with an elevated rotary or circular intersection that is being constructed on a raised platform. Further, the authorities have also said that walkways will be constructed on two sides of the bridge along with deck slabs.

The officials added that once the bridge is ready, it will provide motorists direct access between Dindoshi and SGNP. Once the tunnels are ready, vehicles will get direct access to the tunnel from the bridge.

Being built at Rs 14,000 crore, the 12-km-long GMLR will traverse towards the east from the Western Express Highway (WEH) and extend till Mulund in the eastern suburbs. At present, there’s no direct connectivity between these two parts of the city and travel time during peak hours ranges from 75 to 90 minutes. After the GMLR is ready, travel time between these two points will come down to 25 minutes.

The deadline for the completion of twin tunnels has been set for 2028, while the project is set to become entirely operational by 2029 onwards.