MSRDC looks to revive Bandra-versova sea link project
MUMBAI: When the state government gave the Mumbai civic body the go-ahead to build the 35.6-km coastal road on the western sea front, it had become clear that the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) was losing sea link projects.
But the agency has not withdrawn; instead, MSRDC officials are now working on reviving the long-stuck Bandra- Versova sea link by linking it with the coastal road project.
They call this a ‘hybrid coastal
road plan’.
MSRDC officials are holding meetings with bureaucrats in Mantralaya to convince the government to include the Bandra-versova
Seal Link (BVSL) in the coastal road project plan, even though the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is leading the project, refuted any possibility
of a hybrid coastal road plan.
The BMC is currently working on plan to see if the alignment of the proposed Nariman Point- Kandivli coastal road can be extended to Mira Road.
With the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) recently issuing the terms of reference (TOR) for the sea link project — paving the way to begin environment approvals — MSRDC has got an added boost to push its case through.
“We have a detailed plan ready for BVSL, and a source to generate funds required for the project. If we are allowed to build the sea link, it will bring down the cost of the coastal road project. Now that MOEF has issued the TOR, we will appoint a consultant to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that will be submitted to the MOEF in six months,” said a senior MSRDC official, not wishing to be named. The official claimed the state was keen on considering its proposal.
The 9-km BVSL will cost between Rs6,000 and Rs7000 crore, and MSRDC plans to build it on the public-private partnership model.
The MOEF has also issued a TOR for the plan to upgrade the Mumbai- Pune Expressway — this involves constructing two tunnels in the Khandala Ghat section, with one passing under Lonavala lake, and two cable-strayed bridges. The plan will provide 14-lane roads between Mumbai and Pune.