Maharashtra may scrap Worli-Haji Ali sea-link

With the Maharashtra government seemingly inclined towards building the cheaper coastal roads as an alternative to sea-links, the much-hyped Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link (WHSL) in Mumbai could face the prospect of being scrapped.

"Coastal roads are cheaper. Why should we go in for sea-links(like Worli-Haji Ali). We are discussing the coastal road proposal with the ministry of environment and forests(MoEF)," Maharashtra government's chief secretary, Ratnakar Gaikwad, said at a seminar held in Mumbai today.

The recent coastal regulation zone norms, which have come into effect permit construction of coastal (or arterial) roads on stilts.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), had, last year, signed a build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession agreement with the Anil Ambani-led firm, Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra), to construct the 8-lane Worli-Haji Ali Sea-Link.

"Though some work on the project (WHSL) is on, the government can still rethink over it and shift to the coastal road alternative as it is much cheaper," Mumbai Transformation Support Unit (MTSU) project director, UPS Madan said at the seminar.

RInfra has formed a consortium with Hyundai Engineering and construction to construct the 5.5-kilometre Sea-Link at a cost of around Rs5,100-crore.

"If the ministry (of environment and forests) permits, then we will take a call on how to execute it," Madan said.