BJP corporator Makarand Narwekar has asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to keep South Mumbai out of its latest Rs 8,614-crore road concretisation tender, arguing that the area’s distinctive urban conditions require a different execution strategy.
In a letter addressed to Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, Narwekar recommended dividing roadwork into smaller ward-level or zone-based contracts instead of including the Island City in a large consolidated package. He said this approach would improve monitoring, speed up construction and make contractors more accountable.
His objection comes amid complaints that several road concretisation projects in South Mumbai have remained unfinished since 2023, despite changes in contractors. Referring to the situation, his letter stated, “Even the replacement contractor has reportedly failed to deliver, resulting the BMC to scale down the contract’s scope. These unfinished stretches have now been included in the latest tender,” the letter stated.
Narwekar highlighted several challenges that distinguish South Mumbai from suburban areas, including narrow streets, substantial pedestrian and vehicular movement, VIP and security-related restrictions, inadequate space for construction equipment and material storage, and extensive underground utility networks.
“Such constraints call for smaller, meticulously planned work packages rather than large, consolidated contracts,” he said.
The corporator maintained that repeated contractor shortcomings and fresh tendering processes were extending inconvenience for residents. While supporting the civic body’s objective of achieving complete road concretisation, he called for a more practical approach to project implementation.
The BMC’s Phase III programme involves 1,261 roads covering 313 km across the Island City and eastern and western suburbs. It also includes side stretches along 176 roads, spanning another 139 km.
The tendering process is expected to conclude by December 2026, with construction scheduled to begin in January 2027.
Mumbai’s Rs 17,000-crore concretisation programme was announced on July 23, 2022, following a directive from then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to upgrade the city’s roads within two years. However, the original deadline was missed. Work covering 717 km under the first two phases remains in progress, with Phase I targeted for completion by December 2026 and Phase II by May 2027. More than 1,333 km of the city’s approximately 2,000-km road network has been concretised so far.
Source: The Free Press Journal
