Andheri flyover under study

Work on the mammoth 1.5 km-long Andheri flyover spanning three junctions on the Western Express Highway slowed down after the MMRDA refused to give a no objection certificate to the project. A Build-Operate-Transfer BOT project, the Rs 110 crore flyover was to recover all its investment from the sale of shops in a proposed shopping complex beneath the flyover. An immediate result of the absence of this clearance was that the contractor could not get his occupancy certificate.

According to PWD officials, the consultant will examine all aspects of the flyover including road width, parkingspace, traffic safety measures and improvement in junctions in its report to be submitted in July. The MMRDA is to base its approval to the flyover on this report.

Meanwhile, it seems unlikely that the flyover will be completed before the builder8217;s October 1999 deadline but the work will over well before the December 2000 deadline stipulated in the contract.

However, the flyover8217;s builder Madhav Jog attributed the delay to the rain and subsequent cutback in the workforce on the site. He said that the shops had not been sold yet but funds were being raised from other sources. 8220;We are funding the flyover internally and through institutional finance,8221; Jog told Express Newsline. He refused to comment on the appointment of the consultant calling it an internal matter between the MMRDA and the government.

MMRDA officials say the contractor V M Jog was refused a no objection certificate NoC for several reasons. 8220;We asked them to submit detailed traffic impact assessment studies and the provision foradequate facilities like pedetrian access and parking of cars, the adequacy of the side lanes and provision for bus stops.8221;

The contractor was also asked to modify the plan to provide for both green and open spaces beneath the flyover as per development regulations. 8220;The developer should not have commeced work without obtaining all the permissions,8221; the official added.

There are no provisions for the commercial exploitation of areas like flyovers in the DP. But anticipating this as a hurdle in future BOT projects, the Urban Development department modified the UD Act. The modification came about a week after construction on the flyover was approved.

One of the conditions of the BMC and the BMC8217;s Building Proposals and Development Plan DP departments was that the developer would subsequently obtain a clearance from the MMRDA.

8220;Unless the builder obtains our permission, the work will be illegal,8221; the MMRDA official said.