Goregaon Mulund Link Road: BMC approves realignment of 6.5-km twin tunnels
Under earlier plan, tunnels passed below farmlands of tribal communities inside SGNP.
The alignment has been shifted 600 metres towards the eastern side, and the tunnels will now pass below the forest and hillocks without affecting the farmlands. (File Photo) Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities earlier this week gave its approval to realign the 6.5-km-long twin tunnels of its ambitious Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project at an additional cost of Rs 248 crore. These tunnels will pass under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and connect Goregaon in the western suburbs with Vikhroli in the east.
The earlier cost of constructing the twin tunnels was pegged at Rs 6,301 crore, while the revised cost following escalation stands at Rs 6,548 crore. The tunnels are expected to be completed by the middle of 2028.
Initially, the twin tunnels were to pass below the tribal hamlets of Habale Pada and Nagarmudi Pada, which are located within the periphery of SGNP. The alignment of the tunnels lay directly under the farmlands on which the tribal communities are dependent for their livelihood. The tribal communities had voiced their concern over this and held several meetings with the civic authorities urging them to reconsider the alignment of the tunnels.
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