The final hurdle affecting the completion of the road connecting the western suburbs of Jogeshwari to the eastern suburb of Vikhroli has got cleared.
With 500 trees lining the stretch, greens have already started voicing their objection
About a year beyond its scheduled completion date, the final hurdle affecting the completion of the road connecting the western suburbs of Jogeshwari to the eastern suburb of Vikhroli has got cleared.
The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, has agreed to part with 10,000 sq mts of land along the two-km stretch near the IIT market at Powai for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to complete the eight-lane link road.
As per a memorandum of understanding signed recently, the authority will now be able to remove 500 hutments encroaching 90 acres of IIT land behind the main complex. The MMRDA will further reconstruct nine residential buildings, affected in the road-widening project on two and half acres of land freed from encroachments.
Milind Mahiskar, the elated project director of Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) under which Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) is being constructed said, "Baring this two-km stretch, where vehicular traffic would get stuck for an hour, the road is complete from both the Jogeshwari and Vikhroli end. Now with IIT allowing to use their land, the project will be completed as soon as possible.''
The issue, however, is far from over. With about 500 trees lining the two-km stretch, environmentalists have already started voicing their objection. The issue was also raised in the meeting of the Tree authority, a statutory body of the civic body which gives environment clearance.
The Authority's no objection is must for any development project. But, Mahiskar is not worried. He said, "We have a policy to transplant every tree affected in the infrastructure project at Powai or Aarey Milk Colony.''
A Rs146-crore project, JVLR starts from the Western Express Highway from Jogeshwari flyover and pan's across to Eastern Express Highway, beyond Vikhroli.
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