IE: MMRDA presents Rs 6,643-cr budget: March 17, 2008

Some of the major projects that have been allocated funds include Rs 700 crore for the showcase Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), Rs 1,250 crore for Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP) and Rs 500 crore for developing four Monorail corridors and Rs 468 crore for the Metro Rail project.

The MMRDA will spend Rs 4 crore on rehabilitating project affected people (PAP) due to the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) and a provision of Rs 50 crore has been made to create facilities for the employ ment of the resettled people.

Under MUTP, the state has sanctioned Rs 431 crore for the development of rail facilities and Rs 265 crore for roads. The first phase of the mega project is expected to finish by 2009end.

Citing tremendous population and vehicular growth in the city, the MMRDA has earmarked Rs 150 crore for construction of 16 flyovers.

The flyovers planned in western suburbs are at the Airport junction, Dindoshi junction, Times of India junction and Thakur Complex on Western Express Highway, SV Road at the junction of Barfiwala lane.

On the Eastern Express Highway, flyovers have been planned at Gokhale Road ROB and Suman Nagar junction and Navghar junction. The construction of flyovers on Dr Ambedkar Road that are on King Circle junction, Hindmata junction, Bharat Mata junction, Dattaram Lad path and Lal baugh junction are in progress.

An outlay of Rs 600 crore has been made for the construction of skywalks at 20 railway stations within the MMR. The skywalks are touted to provide better mobility at congested railway station areas. These skywalks will also include an additional feature called “hawking plazas” to relocate displaced hawkers. Part of the Rs 600 crore will also be used for improving the facilities outside suburban rail stations, as proposed under the Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme, initially a sub-component of MUTP but later de-linked.

The Mithi river maintenance and building a “land bank” have been allocated Rs 300 crore and Rs 610 crore respectively.

After Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said that MMRDA should work to provide cheap housing in the MMR, the agency has allocated Rs 100 crore to provide affordable rented houses.