Sword of uncertainty hangs over 7 unfinished FOBs
The cost of building seven FOBs in the city is jointly shared by Union railway ministry and the state govt
The construction works of seven foot overbridges (FOBs), including two at Badlapur, one each at Ghatkopar, Kopar, Vangani, Neral and Vithalwadi, are lagging due to lack of funds allocation from the state government, rail officials have revealed. These projects are being jointly funded by the Union railway ministry and the state government.
Speaking about the costs of these mammoth projects, a senior official said, “The overall cost of these stands at around Rs 100 crore. The expenditure is to be shared by the Union railway ministry and state government in a 50:50 ratio.”
The railway ministry has already released its share which is being used for keeping the construction works going. “However, the funds are on the verge of being dried up if the state government doesn’t release its share this month, the works will be stalled,” added another official.
The delay will also cause an exponential rise in the cost of projects, said an official who is monitoring the works. The construction works of these FOBs are being executed by the Mumbai Railway Vikas
The MRVC, which is in charge of the development, has only around Rs 22 cr in its kitty and is also finding it difficult to run its mega Mumbai Urban Transport Projects
Corporation (MRVC), a joint entity of the state government and railway ministry. The MRVC, as per an earlier report by the Free Press Journal, has only around Rs 22 crore in its kitty and is even finding it difficult to run its mega Mumbai Urban Transport Projects (MUTP).
Coming up on the suburban railway network of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, these FOBs are being primarily constructed to curb the trespassing menace. Elaborating on how the paucity of funds is impacting the project, an official said that construction of Kopar FOB started in 2019, and was
to be completed in the next two years. “Initially, the construction work of this FOB was badly hit due to the nationwide lockdown. Subsequently, the work gained pace, but it was again hit by a crisis of funds,” officials said, adding that remaining work could be completed before monsoon if the crisis gets resolved.
Similar is the case with the rest of the FOBs whose construction started after the second Covid-19 wave, and was scheduled to be completed in the current fiscal. “But now it seems difficult because till date just 20 per cent works have been completed at Neral, Badlapur, Vithalwadi and Vangani. Whereas, only preparatory work could be finalised for the Ghatkopar FOB,” the officials apprised.