17 skywalks called off………Swapnil Rawal
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which has been building skywalks outside most suburban railway stations, has decided to drop 17 of them for various reasons, including opposition by locals and failure to get timely permission from the railways.
The MMRDA has fully commissioned seven skywalks and 10 others have been partially opened to pedestrians.
Opposition leaders raised the issue in the Assembly on Monday and Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said the government is willing to review or even reconsider the increasingly unfeasible skywalk project.
The MMRDA maintains the decision to cancel the 17 skywalks has nothing to do with Chavans statement. Ashwini Bhide, MMRDA joint metropolitan commissioner and in charge of the project, it had been decided already to cancel skywalks that have not taken off due to opposition from locals or because railway permission had not arrived in the stipulated time, and skywalks where work has just started.
Now only 34 skywalks will be constructed and we are committed to completing the work by May 31, Bhide said. The cancelled skywalks include those planned at Mahalaxmi, Mahim, Mulund East, Mulund West, Parel, Sewri, Reay Road and Khada Parsi.
Another reason for the cancellation is that the alignment overlaps that of Metro projects, for which a draft detailed project report was recently submitted. No more than 34 skywalks will be constructed in the city. We had already decided that we will not go beyond the 51 skywalks, Bhide added.