MMRDA revises infra funds to Rs 1,13,000cr

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The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, a nodal agency for the makeover of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, has upped the estimated investment target needed for infrastructure development by over 50 per cent from Rs 75,000 crore to Rs 1,13,000 crore.
The MMRDA will invest this amount in the MMR in the next four years. The MMR, which is spread over 4,355 sq km, includes 20 urban regions, four districts and 1,000 villages.
The main reason for increasing the estimated investment is the rise in the demand for better infrastructure. “We require a sufficient fund base to speed up the ongoing projects, and also manage the plans that are in the pipeline,” said Mr Ratnakar Gaikwad, metropolitan commissioner of the MMRDA.
According to the metropolitan commissioner, carrying out large-scale infrastructure projects in Mumbai is an enormous challenge. “It is satisfying to see that these projects are on the fast track and we would soon see a difference in the way infrastructure in Mumbai is perceived,” Mr Gaikwad added. Some of the projects that are being implemented include the Nirmal Abhiyan Scheme, wherein 24,000 toilets would be constructed in the MMR, out of which 20,000 toilets have already been built. Moreover, the rental-housing scheme is underway for which the development authority has approved 25 Letters of Intent to construct more than two lakh homes in the MMR.
Further, the MMRDA is also completing the Metro Rail and monorail projects on a war footing. Many skywalks have also been completed and thrown open for public use. The construction of the Eastern Freeway is also underway. The freeway will connect the Regal Cinema Junction in south Mumbai to the Eastern Express Highway.
Meanwhile, the projects that are still on paper include the Rs 10,000-crore project of an innovation park in Roha in Raigad district. “Many countries have chalked their progress path through the research and development done in innovation parks. On the same lines, the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce gave a presentation on the innovation park near Venice where more than 1,600 scientists are at work.
The MMRDA has also proposed a multi-modal corridor to connect Virar with Alibaug. This 140-km long corridor will have eight lanes with dedicated lanes for buses and bicycles. The median will carry an elevated Metro Rail. This multi-modal corridor starting from Virar will reach Alibaug via Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Dombivali and Panvel in an hour.
Moreover, two iconic towers are being proposed, one at Wadala and the second at Nariman Point.
Further, a final decision is yet to be taken on whether the MMRDA or the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation would bag the multi-crore Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link project to connect Sewree with Nhava Sheva.
Apart from this the MMRDA would also undertaken solid waste management and water management projects in the MMR.