While officials said the merits of Raut's recommendations will have to be looked into, the problematic part is it has come when the Rs36-crore tenders for the 886-metre long Harbour bridge is already out and work is expected to start in about a fortnight.
The railway budget and its Pink Book might have given the railways in Mumbai enough funds to go after several important projects, but what it has not given is a way out of the politics that these projects will be up against in the run-up to the BMC polls next February.
The first salvo has already been fired with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut writing to railway minister Suresh Prabhu that the railways desist from dismantling the Harbour rail-bridge between Bandra and Khar as it would cause immense hardship to Mumbaikars. Raut has recommended that the bridge be made at Mahim.
While officials said the merits of Raut's recommendations will have to be looked into, the problematic part is it has come when the Rs36-crore tenders for the 886-metre long Harbour bridge is already out and work is expected to start in about a fortnight.
Officials are also unable to agree to Raut's contention that the 72-hour block at CST between February 20 and 22 caused "immense" hardship to people. "It was absolutely necessary to complete the block and, since it was widely advertised in the media, commuters were aware of the project's importance. They understood that 72 hours of hardship is nothing compared to the comfort of commuting in 12-coach trains on Harbour line in the near future," said an official.
Another project that might see its share of political run-ins is the Rs918 crore 6th line work between Mumbai Central and Borivli. The project was recently included in prime minister Narendra Modi's Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation scheme which is directly monitored by the PMO. Among the problem areas for the project is a stretch of shanties along the eastern fringe between Kandivli and Malad.
There was a fierce political backlash when Western Railway officials demolished these shanties in October 2013 with then chief minister Prithviraj Chavan complaining about it to then railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge during a public function attended by both leaders at Kurla terminus. The demolitions stopped and the shanty town has appeared right in the way of the 6th line.
The ambitious project to construct a new goods line between Kurla and Wadala to evacuate coal coming into the Mumbai Port Trust is another project that needs to be rushed but has its share of project-affected people. At last count, of the 1,680 hutments that fall in the way of the line, some 1,024 have been given new allotments; new homes for the rest are being worked out. "With the push being given to the power sector, the 3rd goods line will be fast-tracked and its chances of falling prey to politics is also just as high," said sources.
The Harbour line bridge as well as 6th line between Mumbai Central and Borivli are part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project phase II, which has been allotted Rs631 crore in the railway budget, a healthy 24% rise from the Rs511 crore MUTP phase II got in the budget last year.
Mumbai Urban Transport Project II
2014-15: Rs737 crore
2015-16: Rs511 crore
2016-17: Rs631 crore
Total railway share: Rs2,650 crore
(Under MUTP financing conditions, state government pays an equal share)
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