1.3.19

Mumbai: MMRDA doles out ₹7,486 cr to11 lines,ops centre

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority announced its highest-ever budget of ₹16,909 crore, allocating close to 44% (₹7,486.50 crore) to the construction and operation of 11 Metro lines and a centre in and around Mumbai.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis approved the budget that focused on the infrastructure of the city and its neighbouring areas.

Fadnavis also cleared two new Metro lines — the 14th corridor between Kanjurmarg and Badlapur and the 9th between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport. The Detailed Project Reports for both corridors will be prepared now.

Besides the corridors, a large chunk of the budget has been allocated to the much-delayed big ticket projects — the Mumbai Trans Harbour link and the Virar-Alibaug multi-modal corridor. The MMRDA allocated ₹3,000 crore to the MTHL, which will connect Sewri in Mumbai to Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai. The authority is hoping to complete 25% of work on the seabridge connecting two cities by the end of this year. It has allocated ₹2,250 crore to the Virar-Alibaug multi-modal corridor. The Mumbai monorail, which is to be inaugurated on Saturday, has got ₹150 crore.

Metro-2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar) and 7 (Dahisar E-Andheri E), which are expected to start operations from mid-2020, have been allocated ₹1,895 crore and ₹1,921 crore respectively, the biggest allocation among the 11 corridors budgeted for this year.

Two Metro corridors that are expected to pick up speed this year — Metro 4 (Wadala-Thane-Kasarvadavli) and Metro-6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli) — have also been given a major allocation, ₹1,337 crore and ₹800 crore respectively. Another ₹100 crore has been allocated for a Metro Bhavan at Aarey.

The MMRDA is expecting a ridership of 9.95 lakh on the Kanjurmarg-Badlapur route by 2041. Officials said the 44.7 km elevated corridor will be built in public-private partnership model. This new line will be the 14th Metro line in MMR.

With a Badlapur line, the state has brought in all major areas in the region under the Metro ambit. Metros to Navi Mumbai, Thane, Bhiwandi, Mira Bhayander and Virar are already in the pipeline.

The MMRDA has also allocated ₹210 crore to the construction of the Babasaheb Ambedkar memorial at Indu Mills in Dadar and the Bal Thackeray memorial at Shivaji Park.

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