Politics grounds skywalk

The MMRDA had planned the skywalk to connect Mulund East and West and the work had begun a month ago. Sources said the work was suspended on the orders of Chavan who is a member of the Authority.

Constructing a skywalk entails not only digging the ground but also worsening the traffic congestion. Similar is the case with the Mulund skywalk. At present,the MMRDA has reduced the road space to half in Mulund. Local people fear that if the work drags,the MMRDA will not be able to complete the work before monsoon and this will mean further traffic congestion.

It is to be noted that infrastructure agencies like CIDCO and MMRDA are directly controlled by the ruling party,which nominates the members on its board. This ensures the party’s control over bureaucrats and the agency at large. Last week,the Chief Minister had asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to stop its work of replacing the sewage lines. The BMC comes under the urban development department,which is directly controlled by the Chief Minister. Interestingly,the clashes between the Congress-headed MMRDA and the Shiv Sena-BJP-headed BMC are well known.

The situation has turned worse with only less than six months left for the Assembly elections. Local Congress activist Rakesh Shetty,chairman of the employment cell of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC),had opposed the skywalk work on grounds that the MMRDA officials did not consider the views of the local people. He had also claimed to have got the project (east side skywalk) scrapped.

However,people’s groups have opposed the decision. “The project should be completed at the earliest or scrapped completely only after making those responsible for the loss accountable. We are considering to move the High Court,” said Prakash Paddikal,member of Hillside Residents Welfare Association.