127 villages to make way for Virar-Alibaug corridor

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) 126-km Virar to Alibaug corridor project will be constructed over 127 villages of Palghar, Raigad and Thane districts. The cost of the project is Rs 13,000 crore of which around Rs 10, 000 crore will be used for Phase 1.

The multimodal corridor is proposed to be completed in two phases. The length of the first phase of the project, Navghar to Chirner (near Jawaharlal Nehru Port Mumbai (JNPT), is approximately 80 km with a project cost of Rs 10,000 crore and environment cost of Rs 10 crore.

Phase 2 near JNPT will begin from Chirner to Alibaug and will stretch up to 47 km.

A senior MMRDA official told the Free Press Journal, “We have received environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). The three district collectors have initiated negotiations with the land owners whose land will be acquired for the project.”

Officials said they have been facing strong opposition from landowners because of which the survey work was delayed last year. According to the plan, seven from Palghar, 27 from Thane and 94 villages from Raigad will be used for the project.

Of this, the first phase of the project will have 89 villages. Sameer Kurtkoti, Additional Collector (land acquisition department), said, “The land acquisition is still in process. We have sent proposals of the project to two of the district collectors, Thane and Palghar.”

Speaking about staunch opposition for the corridor from landowners which has delayed the project, the official said, “Some landowners have tried to stop the ongoing work by assaulting officials and tried to hamper the machines. However, some landowners have supported the project.”

The corridor will cut down travel time between Virar and Alibaug by 50%. It is also expected to be a crucial step towards the development of the area and create job opportunities in Virar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Dombivali, Panvel, Taloja and Uran. Also, the corridor is expected provide an easy access to Navi Mumbai International Airport, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Mumbai Trans Harbour Link.

According to the plan, this corridor is expected to carry all the traffic from JNPT towards Navi Mumbai and Thane outside the city and to reduce traffic congestion within the city further re-