Island city guardian minister Jayant Patil created a flutter by stating that the controversial Peddar Road flyover project has been cancelled.
Island city guardian minister Jayant Patil created a flutter by stating that the controversial Peddar Road flyover project has been cancelled.
Patil told a regional newspaper that the decision to call off the project was taken due to pressure from local residents, including the Mangeshkar family — Lata Mangeshkar lives in Prabhu Kunj building on Peddar Road. The singer and her younger sister Asha Bhosle have been vocal in their opposition to the construction of the 4.6-kilometre flyover.
"Tenders have been floated for the construction of two small flyovers instead of the Peddar Road flyover," Patil was quoted as saying in a regional newspaper on Sunday. State chief secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad, however, told DNA that no formal decision has been taken about cancelling the project.
"The Citizens Empowerment Committee met a fortnight ago and the issue was discussed then. We realised that Peddar Road has a huge water main in the middle of the road. Even if the flyover is constructed, the issue of traffic snarls towards the Haji Ali junction, Kemps Corner and even at Tambe Chowk on Marine Drive may not be fully resolved. Hence, other ways of resolving the issue were recommended," Gaikwad said.
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) vice chairman and managing director Bipin Shrimali also denied that the project has been cancelled.
"Not sure, not yet," Shrimali said in response to a text message. A senior MSRDC official said the corporation has no plans of cancelling the project. "We have not called for any fresh tenders to construct two flyovers as mentioned by the minister," the official said.
Gaikwad said that the MSRDC, civic body and the traffic police have been asked to come up with a report during the next meeting of the Citizens Empowerment Committee. "The report will state whether two smaller flyovers - one over the Haji Ali junction and another over Cadbury junction - can replace the Peddar Road flyover," Gaikwad said.
The Peddar Road flyover project is one of the most delayed projects in the city. It was one of the 50 flyover projects conceptualised during the Shiv Sena-BJP rule in the state between 1995 and 1999. While most other flyovers have been constructed, the Peddar Road project has remained only on paper. The flyover - starting from the Haji Ali junction and ending at Tambe Chowk on Marine Drive - is expected to cost Rs205 crore.
While the Peddar Road Residents Association has vehemently opposed the project, some residents want the flyover to be constructed. MSRDC officials are trying their best to push the project forward. The corporation along with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board held two public hearings that grabbed headlines for the uproar they caused.
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