A skywalk at the railway line in Kalyan has been under construction for more than 37 months, but half the work is still pending.
The project’s main hurdle, i.e. getting permission from the commissioner of railway safety (CRS), is still stuck. The work order for this skywalk connecting Kalyan east to west was issued on November 6, 2009 and the deadline was August 6, 2010. Its latest deadline is December 31, 2013. This skywalk, like others, is completely funded by the MMRDA.
RTI activist Anil Galgali had filed an RTI with the MMRDA, which forwarded his query to the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC). The reply by KDMC’s deputy engineer (projects), Ghanshyam Navagule, stated that the corporation would complete construction by March 2014, provided the CRS gives permission without further delay. The engineer, however, added, “It won’t be justified to fix any specific agency for the delay.”
A senior officer from MMRDA said on condition of anonymity, “This is what happened in the projects like launching of girders at Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) and at Milan subway too. Officials did take longer time to grant permission which caused the delay.” However, he added that railway officials can’t be blamed as such permissions involve major technicalities and even a minor slip could cost rail operations heavily. The CRS couldn’t be reached for comment.