Mumbai’s ambitious vision of becoming a “pothole-free” city has come at a cost, as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) undertakes the large-scale concretisation of 525 km of roads. This transformation—amounting to one-fourth of the city’s road network—has severely disrupted daily life, causing increased traffic congestion, dust pollution, and delays in essential civic services.
The initiative traces back to 2022, when Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde pledged to convert all of Mumbai’s asphalt roads into concrete. At the time, 1,244 km of the city’s 2,050-km road network had already been concretised. In response, the BMC issued tenders in 2023 to convert the remaining 700 km of roads in two phases, at a staggering cost of Rs 17,734 crore Phase 1 (321 km) began in March 2023, Phase 2 (381 km) began in October 2024.
However, as of April 10, BMC had completed only 21% of Phase 1, with Phase 2 progressing at a snail’s pace. The delay has drawn widespread criticism from opposition parties, citizens, and activists alike.
In response, BMC Commissioner and State-appointed Administrator Bhushan Gagrani on March 25 ordered a halt to all new road excavations and set a deadline of May 31 to complete work on already dug-up roads.
For Mumbaikars, daily commutes have doubled. Kapil Prabhudessai, who travels from Goregaon to Andheri, said travel time has increased from 35–45 minutes to over an hour. Ravikant Prajapati, who works in Lower Parel, echoed similar frustrations.
Besides traffic woes, the project has led to serious safety hazards like Gas pipeline ruptures have caused fires, including a fatal one in Andheri on March 9, which claimed a life and injured two others, Sewage lines have been accidentally damaged during excavation & 2,413 trees have been harmed, prompting the Tree and Garden Department to issue 378 notices to various civic agencies.
Contractors have cited lack of proper underground utility maps as a major hurdle, leading to accidental damage and work delays. Additionally, roads remaining operational during construction slows down the pace of work.
Cracks have already begun appearing on newly concretised roads, raising questions about construction quality. In response, BMC has fined contractors a total of Rs 3.5 crore and enlisted IIT Bombay to monitor the work. “We will not tolerate poor-quality work,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar.
Civil society activists have slammed the BMC’s haste in awarding tenders before the upcoming Assembly elections, calling it “poorly planned and politically driven”. Activist Mahadev Shelar said the coordination failure between politicians and civic officials has choked Mumbai’s roadways.
However, defending the long-term vision, Rahul Shewale, former Standing Committee Chairman of the BMC, said, “We used to spend ₹800 crore annually on pothole repairs. Concretising roads is a permanent solution, despite the current discomfort.”
The BMC has been concreting Mumbai’s major roads for over a decade in response to frequent potholes caused by monsoons and allegations of corruption. With the May 31 deadline looming and the monsoon expected in June, the civic body now faces a race against time.
Source: Frontline
