Delhi nod for coastal road project may cast a shadow over proposed Bandra-Versova sea link
The projects are being implemented under two different govt depts - the BMC and the MSRDC.
The likelihood of having a coastal road in Mumbai after the Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar expressed his willingness to positively consider it has cast a cloud of uncertainty on another city project, on which a state corporation has already spent more than Rs 3.5 crore just in planning.
Although the state government has not made a formal decision yet, a green signal to the coastal road may come as a spoiler for the Bandra-Versova sea link, the tendering process for which started last year and two consortia have been shortlisted for financial biding. A senior official from the BMC who did not wish to be named said, “The coastal road plan does not account for a sea link between Bandra and Versova. If the coastal road project is taken up for implementation, the sea link may be dropped. Even the chief minister has said that he prefers the plan for a coastal road rather than sea links because it is cost effective.”
The projects are being implemented under two different government departments – the coastal road under the BMC and the sea link under the MSRDC.
The Rs 5,975-crore Bandra-Versova sea link is planned as a northwards extension to the Bandra-Worli sea link on a public private partnership model and will attract toll. The coastal road, on the other hand, estimated to cost about Rs 8,000 crore, is planned as a freeway from Nariman Point to Kandivali. While its alignment accounts for the Bandra-Worli sea link, which is in use since 2009, connectivity to Versova is proposed through reclamation and roads on stilts, overlooking the Bandra-Versova sea link plan.
“Both projects cannot co-exist as the alignment is similar. Besides, the state government is consciously choosing the coastal freeway alternative to sea links as besides the cost being lower there are other benefits such as creating green spaces for the public,” said B C Khatua, project director at the Mumbai Transformation Support Unit, a thinktank.
The 9.3-km sea link is proposed to have entry and exit points at Carter Road and Juhu other than the terminating points of Bandra and Versova. Similarly, the 35.6-km coastal road will have entry and exit accesses at the Bandra-Worli sea link, Western Express Highway, Carter Road, Khar Danda to connect to the Juhu Tara Road, Ritambara College and Versova Seven Bungalows on the Bandra-Versova stretch.
However, SM Ramchandani, joint managing director at MSRDC, said, “Both projects can be implemented. The vehicular population will multiply till the time the sea link is constructed. It will not affect the traffic estimates for the Bandra-Versova sea link.” As per MSRDC’s estimates, 45,465 vehicles are likely to use the sea link by 2020.
The MSRDC is yet to initiate financial bidding for the project as it is awaiting a sanction from the Centre for viability gap funding. After the conceptualization of the coastal freeway in 2011, plans for the Worli-Haji Ali and Haji Ali-Nariman Point sea links were stalled. The Bandra-versova sea link was, however, taken up for implementation last year.
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