Link by link

We have been here before: grand plans,fixed deadlines,and black-and-white estimates. Started in 2001,the Bandra-Worli sea link was embroiled in logistics,environmental clearance and court litigation. It also cost thrice as much as originally estimated. The delay in some ways symbolised the crisis of local governance in urban India. As long as state governments resist devolving power to the local bodies,mega-projects will be caught up in a maze of competing power centres each with the right to say no. A bottom-up approach to city infrastructure will also ensure a solid political foundation to these projects.

The Pedder Road flyover a further link in the chain has also got the environmental green signal. The flyover has been facing opposition from well-heeled residents in this plush part of south Mumbai; their obduracy must not be allowed to hold up construction any longer. The interlinking bridges and tunnels,if completed,will shorten the long road from Mumbai airport to Nariman Point. But it remains to be seen if the government will measure up to its talk through that entire journey.