Any average Mumbaikar would be up in arms to know that the central government has rejected funds for two of the most important projects.
Any average Mumbaikar would be up in arms to know that the central government has rejected funds for two of the most important projects. However, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) officials are confident of completing the projects with their own funds.
The state government appointed a Mithi River Protection and Development Authority for cleaning up the river after the floods in 2005. The project was worth Rs1,200 crore. The state also requested the Centre to partly fund the project (Rs600 crore) under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). However, recently, the centre made it clear that it would not fund the project.
In another case of central government’s apathy towards Mumbai, the first line of Metro (Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar) is still awaiting the viability gap funding (VGF) of Rs650 crore. Surprisingly, the Centre has already approved a viability gap for the second line of metro (Rs1,532 crore).
However, when asked about the Centre’s approach towards funding Mumbai projects, MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad said that the authority is financially capable to fund both the projects. “When we approached the centre for metro VGF, the union urban development ministry had no clear strategy on how to fund infrastructure projects. Once they made the strategy, they funded the second line. We are also in the process of getting the VGF for the first line. The chief minister has written to the prime minister regarding that and the Centre should definitely consider out proposal,” said Gaikwad.
As far as the Mithi project was concerned, Gaikwad said, “The centre argued that since Mithi is a river, its development can not be funded under JNNURM. The state government can opt for funds from the river development ministry. In whichever case, I am confident that none of these projects will get delayed due to lack of funds. MMRDA is capable to fund the projects on its own.”
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