Mumbai: The Sewri-Worli Connector bridge will be completed in a year, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Monday, after reviewing the status of 33 key infrastructure projects in the state. The chief minister also expressed displeasure over the delay in the metro rail projects and said he has asked the implementing agencies to use state-of-the-art technology to expedite them.
Fadnavis on Monday reviewed 33 infrastructure projects in his “war room,” including various lines of the metro rail network in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the redevelopment of the BDD chawls, the Thane-Borivali twin tunnel, the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, and various road and electricity projects elsewhere in the state. The chief minister’s war room provides strategic input and delivery support to key infrastructure projects in Maharashtra.
Fadnavis said the agencies in charge of these projects flagged 132 difficulties and issues in their implementation during a review meeting on April 21. Sixty-three of the issues have been resolved in coordination with the various agencies concerned, and the remaining will be sorted out shortly, he said, while speaking to the media after Monday’s review meeting.
The Sewri-Worli connector, which is crucial for northbound and southbound traffic in Mumbai, will be completed in a year, Fadnavis said. “We discussed the issues related to it, and the agencies have apprised us that they will be resolved in one month. We have set the deadline of the next one year to complete the connector,” he added.
Building the connector would involve demolishing the British-era Elphinstone Bridge in Parel. Residents of the area had opposed the move for various reasons, including a lack of clarity regarding the rehabilitation of residents in dilapidated buildings near the bridge and the increased traffic congestion in the area once it is demolished.
Speaking about other projects, the chief minister said the agencies implementing the metro lines have been asked to set a deadline for their completion. He has also asked the planning authorities to construct housing projects at the last station of each metro line.
He added, “The distribution of the keys for the completed houses in the first phase of the BDD chawl redevelopment will be distributed next week. The construction of the tunnel between Orange Gate and Marine Lines has begun, and MMRDA has been asked to shorten the deadline for its completion. There was an issue related to the land belonging to the Mumbai Port Trust, but we have resolved it by speaking to the officials from the central agency.”
Fadnavis also informed that he has directed the various agencies to complete infrastructure projects within three years of their launch with the help of modern technology and resolving the deadlock that’s delaying them. The CM has directed the agencies and state departments to upload all their projects to the war room portal instead of monitoring them through independent portals.
“The projects discussed in the war room should be given priority, and the problems discussed should be resolved till the next meeting of the war room. Bringing the related proposals to the cabinet for its nod and discussing the deadlocks in the implementation of the projects should be prioritised,” the CM is said to have told the officials attending the meeting.