In yet another example of lack of planning and coordination between government agencies, the MMRDA wants construct a Metro Rail corridor on SV Road and Link Road and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has come up with a tender for an elevated road on the same two roads.
As per the MMRDA’s plan for the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro, the route will begin on Link Road at Charkop and will follow the road till Andheri. Thereafter, it will join on SV Road passing Juhu Aerodrome and heading straight to Bandra station on the SV Road.
Whereas, the MSRDC’s elevated road plan also shows similar alignment. The MSRDC’s route starts on Link Road at Dahisar and goes elevated to JP Road Junction in Andheri (west). It will then follow JP Road, overlapping with the under-construction Versova –Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro Rail. After taking a right on SV Road, it will head straight to Juhu Aerodrome, where it will go underground in the form of a tunnel.
“Our Metro rail project has been approved by the state and Central governments,” said Dilip Kawath-kar, joint project director, public relations, MMRDA.
When asked, an MSRDC official said, “We are yet to decide if the elevated road should go above the Metro Rail or the Metro should be above the elevated road.”