Bridge collapse exposes poor infra in Mumbai
Part of an overbridge collapsed over railway tracks in the western suburb of Andheri, halting operations on the western section of Mumbai’s rail line. In 2017, during a heavy downpour, took place one of its worst stampedes — at the Elphinstone railway bridge, claming 23 lives.
Part of an overbridge collapsed over railway tracks in the western suburb of Andheri, halting operations on the western section of the city's rail line.
Such incidents are turning into a norm rather than a rarity for the fast-paced city. In 2017, during a heavy downpour, took place one of its worst stampedes — at the Elphinstone railway bridge, claiming 23 lives.
Tuesday’s bridge collapse once again puts the spotlight on the city’s urban infrastructure and need for its development. A major part of this responsibility is with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). For 201819, its budget is ~272.6 billion, richest civic body in the country.
Of this, there is allocation of ~17.7 billion, as capital expenditure (capex) on traffic operations, roads and bridges. The roads and traffic department’s revised estimate for 2017-18 was ~11.75 billion as capex, compared to the earlier budget estimate of ~10.8 billion. Similarly, the bridges department’s revised estimate for capex was ~3.1 billion, higher from the budget estimate of ~2.2 billion.
Infrastructure experts think the spending has come late. In addition, some highlight the lack of smooth coordination between various agencies. “There are serious institutional issues in Mumbai. Big and different parts are played by the city government, the state government and the central government and broadly this coordination is not sufficient. There is a need for them to rethink the set-up, so that the parts that are inter-dependent can be brought under one responsible agency,” said Manish Agarwal, partner at consultants PwC India.