Even as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) continues work on its ambitious Rs 12,000-crore plan to make Mumbai’s roads pothole-free, it has already begun planning the next phase of road concretisation. Civic officials indicated that the upcoming phase could cost around Rs 2,500 crore, sparking political criticism over the timing of the expansion.
According to officials, estimates for the new phase are still being prepared, and work is unlikely to begin immediately. “We have been asked to work on preparing the estimates; however, none of these works will begin so soon as we are still in the process of identifying the roads that need to be concretised,” said a civic official. The overall project, launched under the direction of former chief minister and current deputy CM Eknath Shinde, aims to replace Mumbai’s entire 2,050-km network of asphalt and paver block roads with more durable concrete surfaces.
So far, the initiative has been executed in two phases. Phase I covered 698 roads spanning 324 km from January 2023, while Phase II includes 1,420 roads across 377 km. Officials maintain that the work is progressing as planned and will be completed before the next monsoon.
However, opposition leaders have raised concerns about execution. Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh pointed to cases where newly concretised roads were dug up soon after completion. “Inter-departmental clearances are not being properly coordinated. Roads are being concretised and then reopened for other works almost immediately,” he said.
Over 1,333 km of roads have already been concretised, including key stretches like Aarey Road and Andheri-Kurla Link Road. Meanwhile, the project has also drawn controversy over alleged irregularities in upcoming tenders, with BJP leader Vivekanand Gupta alleging a Rs 3,200-crore contract could favour a particular contractor.
Source: The Times of India
