Civic body blames MMRDA for poor condition of roads
MUMBAI: Members of the Standard Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), appointed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), have blamed Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for creating a mess of the suburban road network while executing the proposed Metro and Mono rail networks.
The panel members had last week visited vital routes, including Andheri-Kurla Road and Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road, along the under-construction Metro and mono rail lines. They found that the drainage at many places along the rail route had been blocked by construction of columns and beams. They also noticed that footpaths had been demolished to widen the carriageway for barricading work.
“The construction of Metro and monorail is causing huge pressure on a single lane of most of Mumbai’s important thoroughfares. This, in turn, leads to potholes on roads. There should have been a proper plan in place before the MMRDA undertook this work,” said chairman of the committee NV Merani.
MMRDA officials have been told to prepare an alternate traffic management plan since remaining portion of the carriageway, part of which has been used up for barricading of the under-construction line, are collapsing. The heavy traffic at many places has been directed on to a single lane and causing heavy pressure.
The committee will now submit its report to the BMC in the next one week with suggestions and recommendations. “What can the BMC do now, most of the damage has already been done,” said an official from the roads department.