Smooth ride on Mumbai’s Marine Drive? Possible soon, coastal road work starts in November.

After receiving the environment ministry’s final approval for the coastal road project, the state government is planning to issue request for proposal (RFP) in June so that the construction can begin by November.

The state government on Tuesday also authorised the Mumbai collector to hand over 12 leased plots to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) - nodal agency for the project - that will be used in the project. The government is also considering to bring out a law for special projects which would help them to be carried out without much delay.

The decisions were taken in a ‘war room’ meeting during which chief minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the progress of major projects underway in the state including various infrastructure and irrigation projects.

Fadnavis said that they would invite bidders for the coastal road project in June and begin the construction work by November.

“There are 12 plots that fall in the line of the project. Of them, nine plots can be handed over to the BMC immediately while the rest will take some time,” the chief minister said.


Sanjay Mukherjee, additional municipal commissioner of the BMC said that all these plots are under the Arabian sea and had been allotted to the residents by the British government. “The British wanted to reclaim land from the sea and so they allotted the plots to the people in advance but eventually, none of the plots were reclaimed.” He added, “Of the 12, the lease of nine has been expired while others need to be renewed. It is necessary for us to take over the plots as we need to reclaim them for the building the coastal road.”

Mukherjee also said, “We have also received a no objection certificate from the revenue department to reclaim land.”

He added that the response for request for qualifications (RFQ) from bidders was encouraging. The civic body received 17 responses from companies that have international experience.

The chief minister also said that the state government is considering to introduce a law for special projects such as - coastal projects, Mumbai-Nagpur Superexpressway etc. to ensure that they are completed without much delay. “Many countries such as Japan and Singapore have this law which helps them to complete such projects within a specific time. It also ensures coordination between various departments of the state government,” Fadnavis said.

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