Widen Mithi or forget airport development: MMRDA

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has given the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (Mial) an ultimatum. In a recent meeting, the agency said that it won’t allow any further development at the airport if the MIAL didn’t undertake widening of the Mithi river running below the airport runway.

MMRDA was recently appointed as the special planning authority for the airport area —which till recently was under the jurisdiction of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The agency claimed to have finished most of the Mithi deepening and widening, ranging from 60m to 200m in various sections of the river.

However, the middle stretch of 600m running through the airport is
still a mere 27m wide.

“Though Mial has undertaken a feasibility study for widening Mithi through IIT Mumbai and Jacob Circle, they demanded that the river be diverted through the Andheri-Kurla Road. The proposal was turned down,” an MMRDA official said.

The official claimed that Mial has been ordered to carry out Mithi widening work or MMRDA won’t let them plan any development activity around the airport. “Mial officials seemed positive and we expect them to carry out the work on the stretch before monsoon,” said MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad.