Rehabilitation of 800 families poses challenge

“There is a 400-metre stretch in Prabhadevi where we will have to shift nearly 600 families. Some of these residents are in talks with Slum Redevelopment Authority. We are also trying to facilitate the redevelopment. Around 200 metres of the stretch have been cleared,” said Ashwini Bhide,additional metropolitan commissioner,MMRDA.

MMRDA will also have to negotiate with around 200 families in Sewri. It was trying to facilitate in-situ rehabilitation,wherein the families are shifted and resettled in the vicinity itself,said Bhide.

The proposed 4.5-km elevated road will connect traffic from the western suburbs to the proposed Sewri-Nhava Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL). The Worli-Sewri corridor,costing Rs 455.6 crore,will begin at Narayan Hardikar Marg in Worli and meet the MTHL near the Sewri railway station. The construction is estimated to take around four years.

The development authority had originally planned for the Worli-Sewri road to have three ramps at the Sewri end – one to connect to the MTHL,a second to join the Eastern Freeway for vehicles to exit at Wadala and a third to travel towards south Mumbai.

However,to reduce the number of project-affected people,MMRDA is planning to take up the construction of the first ramp.

“To construct the other ramps,the alignment will pass through BDD chawls. Redevelopment of BDD chawls is being considered by the state,so we will take up work on the other ramps at a later date,” Bhide said. MMRDA has also begun talks with Central and Western Railway to get the general arrangement drawing approved to take the elevated corridor over the railway tracks at Sewri and Elphinstone.