A new bridge is planned on the Thane creek

Do you want to cut down travel time from Mumbai to Pune or Goa by 50 minutes and shorten the distance by 17 km? You may be able to do so in three or four years if the Union environment ministry clears a proposal for a bridge between Vikhroli and Mhape on the Thane creek. The six-lane bridge will start where the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) meets Eastern Express Highway (EEH) and end near Koparkhairane on Palm Beach Road. From here, it will be a short drive to Thane-Belapur Road, which connects with the Pune or Goa highways. JVLR’s daily load of one lakh vehicles (travelling between the eastern and western suburbs) will be substantially eased once the bridge comes up. For Kalyan, one can take Shil Phata Road via Mahape. At present, Pune or Goa-bound vehicles from Mumbai take either the Airoli or Vashi bridge on the Sion-Panvel highway, the traffic load of which will come down once the new bridge is ready. In all, 2 lakh vehicles will be diverted from the EEH and the Sion-Panvel highway to the bridge (which will be the sixth on the creek—the others being Kashedi, Bhiwandi, Kalwa, Airoli and Vashi). The bridge will connect with Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Road, which runs parallel to the EEH. It will also facilitate traffic headed for Airoli, Kalwa and Thane. The portion of the bridge above the creek will be 2.33-km long. Its connectors to Ghatkopar and Koparkhairane will measure 4.15 km. The cost of construction has been estimated by the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to be Rs 535 crore. “It can be constructed in three years once all permissions are obtained. We have forwarded the proposal to the MMRDA for funding and are jointly seeking environmental clearance. The tendering process will take about six months,” said a senior official from the PWD. The bridge will be constructed with private participation. The developer will be allowed to recover costs and earn profit over 23 years through toll (refer to box for rates). “The feasibility of the project is sound. The only hurdle is environmental clearance as the bridge will come up on 29 hectares of mangroves and forestland. Another concern is if it will severely impact toll collection on the Vashi and Airoli bridges by diverting to itself a substantial number of vehicles,” the official said. Apart from this bridge, there are other projects concerning existing infrastructure on the creek. The Vashi bridge is being expanded to 12 lanes by adding another six as part of the Sion-Panvel highway expansion project, for which developers have been selected. The grandest plan concerns the 22-km, Rs 7,000-crore Nhava-Sewri sea link, for which bidding will be held—for the third time—soon.

PRP merges with Congress

Megastar Chiranjeevi announced the merger of his Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress on Sunday, putting an end to speculation about his future move and setting the stage for a fierce battle between the ruling camp and Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra. Chiranjeevi met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at 10, Janpath on Sunday evening. He later said the PRP would be part of the AICC soon. He said the merger was unconditional and done only to further his social justice plank by using the bigger platform of the 125-year-old party. Union law minister and AICC in-charge of Andhra, Veerappa Moily, said, “As of now, Chiranjeevi is part of the Congress family.” After defence minister A K Antony invited the star, battle lines were drawn between the Congress and rebel Jagan.

Delhi Metro update

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has finalized the alignment and station locations of the extension of the Central Secretariat-Badarpur line. The station locations – placed underground weaving through a populated stretch — have been put at gaps of approximately 2km, and will be catering to the largely office and commercial hubs of Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, Daryaganj and Kashmere Gate. The six stations include Janpath, Mandi House, ITO, Delhi Gate, Jama Masjid and Lal Quila. The DMRC has already floated the tenders for building the Mandi House station – which will be extended to become an interchange station — while the location of the other four stations has now been finalized. “Geographical survey is still on although the station locations are decided. We are yet to freeze the entry and exit points of these stations,” said a senior DMRC official. The location of the ITO station has been fixed to come up under the post office on Bahadurshah Zafar Marg. The underground station, which will be built under the main road, will have to be designed around the existing subway. DMRC officials said the details were being worked out. The other station, Delhi Gate, will be coming up under the curve before the traffic signal on the left turn to LNJP Hospital on Bahadurshah Zafar Marg. The station in Jama Masjid will come up underground in front of the mosque, along Daryaganj, while the Lal Quila station will be built right under the crossing in front of the fort. This line will go on to join the Kashmere Gate metro station, which will be turned into an interchanging station once the line becomes operational. In fact, the station will be integrated with the renovated ISBT, said DMRC officials. The extension of line 6 — Badarpur to Central Secretariat — could well be one of the more challenging projects of the DMRC. The line, which will be extended from Central Secretariat to Kashmere Gate, will have six stations going through some of the most populated and sensitive areas in the city. These are places that not only see heavy traffic but also house protected monuments, besides being extremely populated, admit officials. The line is expected to ease traffic considerably along this stretch, says DMRC. “The minute details are being worked out. Some changes may take place, for instance in the entry/exit points, but the location of the stations will remain the same. The entire project will take off this year,” said an official.

Islamic banking set to enter India

The Kerala high court dismissed a petition challenging the state government’s plans to co-promote an Islamic finance institution. The move could pave the way for introduction of Islamic finance products by existing lenders and also reduce regulatory objections for an Islamic Bank. On Thursday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice J Chalameswar and Justice P R Ramachandra Menon dismissed petitions objecting to the creation of an Islamic financial institution and said the proposed body was to work in accordance with financial laws of the country even while it complied with Shariah rules. The state-owned Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) started working on this proposal after finance minister Thomas Isaac floated the idea in 2009. The proposal was to start a financial institution working on the principles of Shariah. It was registered as Al-Baraka Financial Services. The bank was to have a body of Islamic scholars to advise whether the principles of Shariah were being complied with. KSIDC was to hold 11 per cent equity in the entity. Al-Baraka has 14 promoters and prominent Gulf-based entrepreneurs from the state P Mohammed Ali and C K Menon were to hold the posts of chairman and vice-chairman respectively. The Reserve Bank of India stayed the implementation of the proposal in 2010 after two petitions, one of them by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, were filed in the high court, arguing that participation of the state in such an institution went against the secular principles of the country. A division bench comprising Chief Justice J Chalameswar and Justice P R Ramachandra Menon on Thursday rejected the petitions. The judges said the proposed institution was to work in accordance with the financial laws of the country even while complying with the Shariah. The judges said even though the new institution was based on the principles of one religion, its motive was not to propagate the religion and the state’s participation in it was purely based on commercial interests. The judges, however,said it was for the RBI to examine whether the constitution of the new entity went against any of the banking rules stipulated by it.

Motown January 2011 snapshot

Koyna Dam water for Mumbai ?

Back to 1991?