Touted as Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s pet project, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s coastal road is one of the high-priority projects for the new Maha Vikas Aghadi government that will be monitored directly by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
Work on the project was halted in July after the Bombay High Court quashed the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) clearance to it and restrained the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from moving forward with it. Though the Supreme Court stayed the HC order two weeks ago, it has asked the BMC not to go ahead the work till the further order.
The new government, however, has decided to monitor the progress of the project from the CMO, with Mr. Thackeray giving it his personal attention. “The project is divided into parcels. The BMC bit was halted due to the HC order, but the sea link portion between Bandra and Versova to be constructed by MSRDC is progressing smoothly. Now that the Supreme Court order is in favour of the government, the work will gradually start and will be monitored by the CM himself,” an official from the BMC said.
The Sena is in control of the BMC as well, and every major civic project will be under close watch from the CMO, the official said.
Directions have been issued to ensure the work on 9.98-km stretch with the BMC, from Marine drive to Worli, should be completed with speed once it resumes at full capacity.
“The Nagpur-Mumbai super communication expressway is being named after the late Balasaheb Thackeray. Which also means that the completion of that road is now the responsibility of this government. Similarly, the CM is ensuring that every ongoing infrastructure project in the city is completed in the stipulated time under this government,” a senior Sena MLA from Mumbai said.
On Friday, Mr. Thackeray held an interaction with the Municipal Commissioner, assistant municipal commissioners of the BMC, Mumbai police chief, and officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, Urban Development Department, and Slum Rehabilitation Authority.
“All agencies should work together to ensure the beautification of Mumbai,” he said. The Sena has long been demanding better coordination between the various agencies to tackle the city’s problems.
In a tweet, Worli MLA and Yuva Sena leader Aditya Thackeray said, “It was crucial that Mumbai’s multiple agencies coordinated on civic issues and today timelines and targets were set for the agenda. Better planning, aesthetics, debris and garbage dump-free Mumbai, pedestrian comfort, greening, hoarding policy were some of the issues taken up. A review of important on going road works across the city, missing links, development plan roads, Coastal Road, Goregaon-Mulund Link Road and the Western Express highway improvement, was taken today with suggestions from the Chief Minister.”
