3 min readMumbaiMar 19, 2018 02:35 AM IST
First published on: Mar 19, 2018 at 02:35 AM IST
“The project is aimed at decongesting the traffic movement in the station area and making it accessible for pedestrians and motorists,” said an official
More than three months after the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) sought a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to start work on the Kalyan railway station area improvement programme, the MSRTC is yet to give its go-ahead. This has resulted in funds of Rs 275 crore, received by the civic body under the ‘smart city’ project, remaining unused.
Officials from the civic body said it had taken up the work of improving the Kalyan railway station area, and that Central Railway and MSRTC were two major stakeholders in it. As per the plan, a 14-metre-high flyover will be built for buses and cars to move in both directions. Autos, cycles and pedestrians will be at the ground level, with dedicated lanes for them. Presently, all vehicle and pedestrian movement is at ground level. Lifts and escalators are also proposed to be built for people to reach the railway station.
“The project is aimed at decongesting the traffic movement in the station area and making it accessible for pedestrians and motorists,” said an official, adding that Central Railway had given the project its go-ahead. The official further said the proposed bus stand in front of the railway station, on MSRTC land, was a critical part of the project. As per the plan, a state-of-the-art bus stand will be built on the spot.
The civic body’s plan to develop the bus stand has an estimated cost of Rs 30 crore. “There are no pre-conditions about commercial exploitation of the land, and we are open to negotiations. The only thing is that we want the MSRTC to take a decision so that we can start work immediately,” the official said, adding that the civic body had not been able use funds of Rs 275 crore for more than three months. “We are constantly in touch with the MSRTC to get a go ahead and we are hopeful of getting it soon,” said P Velrasu, commissioner of the Kalyan-Dombivli civic body.
MSRTC officials said it was discussing the proposal with the civic body. “The KDMC is expected to submit a revised design in the next few days, and then we will take it up with the board,” said Ranjit Singh Deol, managing director of MSRTC.
“The project is aimed at decongesting the traffic movement in the station area and making it accessible for pedestrians and motorists,” said an official
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