Defence land acquisition inches closer to reality

The under-construction Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) extension project, estimated to be built at a whopping Rs 481 crore, has finally received the nod from the Union defence ministry on the proposal for acquisition of 0.13 hectares of defence land. The proposal for the land adjacent to Western Express Highway at Vakola has been accepted five to six years after it was pitched.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior official from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) confirmed that they had recently held an online meeting with defence officials from Delhi. During the meeting, the defence officials also took a review whether the MMRDA has complied the requirements needed before obtaining the land parcel, which didn’t materialise in previous discussions, mentioned the official.

Though the defence ministry has accepted the proposal

there is no declaration on handing over the land parcel.

In September last year, a steel span at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) of this under-construction bridge collapsed. When asked as to why the collapsed part was not rebuild, the official replied, “We are waiting for the final report from VJTI. Our consultants have reviewed the steel span strength and the revisions need to be done. Our contractors will begin the work, once we get the VJTI reports.” The collapsed steel span of this bridge at BKC has a substantial curve and therefore the load of the span has been reduced meaning the cementt among others to avoid a similar incident in future, added the official.

The proposal for the land adjacent to Western Express Highway at Vakola has been accepted five to six years after it was pitched