If Centre can complete projects in 2.5-3 yrs, why can’t BMC?: Fadnavis

MUMBAI: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, in a meeting with BMC officers on Tuesday, pulled them up for delaying infra projects in the city. “If the Centre can complete projects in 2.5 to three years, why can’t the BMC?” he demanded.

BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani and other senior officers were present at the meeting, which was held at the Vidhan Bhavan secretariat. Fadnavis instructed the BMC to put projects like the Goregaon-Mulund link road and the Versova-Bhayander coastal road on its speed list and complete them quickly.

The bridges department of the BMC has a dismal track record, and takes six to eight years to complete a project. Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner (projects), has now started visiting sites regularly to ensure speedy completion. When asked for deadlines, the BMC told Fadnavis that Andheri’s Gokhale Bridge would be completed by April 30, the Vikhroli East-West bridge by May 31 and the Carnac bridge by June 10. The Vidyavihar East- West bridge will be completed by December 31.

Other issues discussed at the meeting included sewage treatment plants under construction, the redevelopment of the municipal and government Sion, KEM and Nair hospitals and the progress of the interstate bus terminals and complexes at the erstwhile octroi nakas at Dahisar and Mankhurd. Fadnavis took a review of all these.

In the last few months, Fadnavis has been promoting a policy that says that people can buy vehicles only if they have parking space. He has also said that those who don’t have parking space can go in for parking lots near their house. At the meeting, Fadnavis asked the BMC to speedily construct a 1,200-car park at Haji Ali.

Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who was present at the meeting, said that 700 km of road in Mumbai was being concretised, and after this project was complete, Mumbai would have 2,000 km of concretised roads. Shinde told the BMC that the work had to be completed prior to the monsoon so that people did not suffer hardship.