MUMBAI: Once hailed as a bold step towards a greener, fitter city, a 39-km cycling track from Sion to Mulund now lies in shambles. Never used by cyclists, it has been draining crores of rupees in maintenance costs each year – hard-earned taxpayers’ money – while serving as a den for all kinds of illicit activities, a refuge for encroachers, and a dumping ground for locals.
The latest maintenance tender, a ₹9.5-crore contract for two years, is pending issuance to BB Infratech, the same firm awarded a ₹3.7-crore maintenance contract last year.
Built in 2020, along the Tansa pipeline that supplies water to the city, the track snakes through Sion, Kurla, Ghatkopar and Saki Naka, before ending in Mulund. It cost the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) a staggering ₹500 crore to build.
Local residents are becoming increasingly vocal about the track’s decline. “The design was flawed from the start – uneven surfaces, steps, boulders and encroachments make it unsuitable for cyclists. Repeated calls to convert it into parking space, which Mumbai desperately needs, have fallen on deaf ears,” said Payal Shah, representing the HB & JY Marg Forum.
Alleging mismanagement of funds, Shah said the BMC is now considering CSR funds and NGO involvement to cover costs, indicating budget constraints in one of India’s richest municipal bodies. She also criticised the BMC’s Hydraulic Engineering department, which owns the land, for failing to deploy security guards or manage the site effectively.
Residents say the track has become a public hazard. Hardeep Singh, a shop owner near Gandhi Market, said, “It’s become a dumping ground. People litter after visiting Shanmukananda Hall, and by evening it turns into a den for drinking and gambling. It should be repurposed for parking, especially with hospitals and malls in the area.”
The cycling track, a flagship project of Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray, is a symbol of poor planning and mismanagement. The project has its origins in 2017, in a series of massive demolition drives to remove more than 16,000 encroachments for the security of the Tansa pipeline following a Bombay High Court order.
To make sure that encroachers did not return, the BMC designed a project called ‘Green Wheels Along Blue Lines’ – a 10-metre-wide cycling and jogging track on the land cleared of encroachments. In 2018, the municipality decided to build the track along the Tansa pipeline between Sion and Mulund, connecting the suburban railway stations in between, at a cost of ₹300 crore. Within two years, the cost rose to nearly ₹500 crore.
Purshottam Malawade, chief engineer of the BMC’s Hydraulic Engineering department, said there are no plans to dismantle the track. “We have floated a ₹9.5-crore tender for two years, covering cleanliness, plantation and security. It awaits approval from the municipal commissioner,” he said.
BB Infratech, who had bagged the maintenance contract last year, claimed it fulfilled its contractual duties, but lacked the authority to address encroachments or provide security. “We’re still waiting for the new work order. Meanwhile, BMC is exploring CSR partnerships to fund the maintenance,” a representative of the contractor said.
“The only place where the track is being used is in Mulund. The rest is a disaster. The area should be beautified for people’s recreation. Spending more money on maintenance is a waste of taxpayers’ money,” said Ravi Raja, former leader of the opposition in the BMC.