BMC focusses big on Mumbai infra projects, to dip into reserves for expenses

Mumbai: The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has focussed big on completing ongoing mega-infrastructure projects in Mumbai for which it plans to deploy its huge reserves which fetch low rates of interests selectively as is the practice since 3 years, BMC Commissioner I.S. Chahal said on Friday.

Of the total reserves of Rs 84,824.07 crore, the BMC holds Rs 39,064.86 crore towards committed liabilities and the remaining Rs 45,759.21 crore are being linked to various infra projects and funnelled towards capital expenditure to ensure world-class infrastructure for Mumbai.

In the BMC budget for 2024-2025, the projects listed are the Mumbai Coastal Road Project of which Phase I is 84 per cent completed and the south-bound arm is slated for inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 19, and this year, another Rs 2,900 crore is provided for it.

Following the inauguration, the south bound side will then become operational to the public from February 20.

The four-phased work on the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road project which includes a 4.7-km-long twin-tunnel passing under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), 3 flyovers, road-widening on the Goregaon (west) and Mulund (east) ends, and rehab of project affected persons, is proceeding and this year, an outlay of Rs 1,870 crore is made.

As much 1,224 km of city roads have been concretised, work is in progress for another 397 km, and in the current year (2024-2025), 209 km roads shall be concretised, the Eastern & Western Express Highways are being refurbished for better traffic movement, and other related works, for which the BMC has earmarked Rs 3,200 crore.

A total of 16 big and small bridges are under various stages of construction or planning across the city, which will ease traffic flow in all directions, east-west and north-south, besides reducing pollution and enabling fuel savings.

On the health infrastructure front, the BMC has lined up a slew of 11 important hospital projects with an outlay of Rs 1,716.85 crore, and will launch 54 Hinduhrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray – Aapla Dawakhana with Rs 99.42 crore earmarked.

The BMC will provide Rs 3,497.82 crore for various big and small projects in the civic education sector including modernisation/upgradation of existing schools, with facilities like digital classrooms, computer labs, skill development centres, developing organic (kitchen farming) gardens in 100 civic schools, maths-science centres, etc.

An amount of Rs 765 crore will be spent for completing the sewerage disposal for Mumbai, which presently has a network of 2,061.07-km-long sewer lines, covering 85.15 per cent of the area and serving 78 per cent of the population.

The BMC will spend Rs 5,054 crore on the Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project, which comprises Wastewater Treatment Facilities at Worli, Bandra, Dharavi, Versova, Malad, Bhandup and Ghatkopar, three sewer tunnels, biogas plants and other components.