The body had irked the BMC when it tried to wriggle out of repairing three arterial city roads under its jurisdiction; after a visit to the spots, officials finally agreed to bear the cost for the work
It took some time coming, but there is finally some good news for commuters who frequently travel in areas like Andheri, Ghatkopar and Chembur -- the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has promised to take up the task of repairing the damaged spots on three major roads in these areas, instead of trying to foist it upon the BMC.
A visit by the MMRDA officials to these roads along with BMC ward officials on Thursday set the ball rolling.
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For the past week, the fate of pockmarked stretches on three crucial roads -- JP Road in Andheri, Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road and RC Marg Chembur -- was uncertain, as the BMC and MMRDA were locked in a tussle over which party was responsible for its repairs.
The ruling party at the BMC, Shiv Sena, had demanded that the MMRDA bear all the expenses for repairs on these stretches, as they had been given right of way on the stretches only after they promised to maintain them.
MiD DAY had reported on the impasse in its May 7 edition (‘3 project-scarred roads that you might to avoid this monsoon’).
Road to recovery? MMRDA and BMC officials paid a joint visit to the scarred roads under the MMRDA’s care, after which officials of the latter agreed to pay for repairs. Pics/Sayed Sameer Abedi
All the three roads are arterial ones, and a total of about 17 km is in extremely bad condition, causing traffic snarls in peak hours.u00a0
Tussle: MiD DAY had reported that the ruling party at the BMC, Shiv Sena, had demanded that the MMRDA bear all the expenses for repairs on roads that had been handed over to it for different development projects and were damaged by construction work
Though the BMC has started pre-monsoon work on roads, there is little hope that the repair work will outlast the monsoons.
Ameet Satam, the ward council chairman, who was present for the visit by MMRDA and BMC officials, said, “Our only concern was to get the roads repaired and also get other damage-control work done before monsoons, as even the drainage system has developed problems.
The visit was a successful one as the MMRDA has promised us that the roads will be in better condition before monsoon.”
Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director, MMRDA, said, “It is too early to comment on handing over the roads to the BMC and we will do so after Metro rail starts.
Whenever the roads are handed over, they will be improved ones. The hand-over is secondary. Before that we will complete the road work and make it motor-friendly before May 31. Work will start from May 13.”
Tweet talk
@Just_Dalip Excellent job done @Mid-day for #ReturnOurRoads as Mumbai suffers year after year the flimsy excuses of BMC; more expose needed vigorously.
@soulkadhi The highest tax paying city demands the best of infrastructure. Let GoM and BMC figure out. Heavy fines for road contractors #ReturnOurRoads
@BHAGWANDAS52 #ReturnOurRoads We have enough of nonsense of the corrupt BMC on bad road conditions and the time has come that we must unite fightu00a0
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