Mumbai: The Western Railway (WR), if required, will pay from its pocket and appoint a contractor for the dismantling of the Delisle bridge at Lower Parel, and will not wait for funds from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to award the contract.
“Tenders for the bridge work will be opened on Thursday. We will ensure there is no impediment to the contract being awarded,” Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer, WR, said.
The bridge was closed on July 24, after a joint audit conducted by the BMC, the Railways, and experts from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay deemed it too dangerous.
According to senior railway officials, the dismantling is expected to cost around ₹6 crore. “One does not need to pay the contractor the full amount upfront. We will pay the required amount so that work is not stalled,” an official said. Once the contractor is finalised, the work might require an approval from the Commissioner of Railway Safety.
The WR and the BMC are also in a tussle as to who will construct the new bridge.
Meanwhile, the WR has asked the government and civic agencies to remove utility materials passing over the bridge by August 20. “There are cables, wires, and ducts over the bridge. Departments concerned have been requested to shift these materials immediately, or else, we will be forced to do it,” Mr. Bhakar said.
The railway, for major works, asks the BMC for funds, and it is only after the funds are deposited that the contract is awarded. But, the WR is still awaiting funds for the sanctioned works of around ₹27 crore, of which ₹3.4 crore is for Gokhale Bridge in Andheri. The works, for which tenders were opened last week, include dismantling the existing pedestrian pathway, building a new pedestrian pathway on both sides of the bridge, and repairing damaged girders.
