By Apurva Bhatt
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Friday set aside a budget of Rs 4,240.78 crore for infrastructure development in 2014-15, with nearly a fourth of the amount allocated for a project aimed to improve the suburban railway system.
The MMRDA has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for the second phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-2). It has a significant share in the development authority’s overall budget this year as the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), the infrastructure financing arm of the city’s suburban railway system, is expected topurchase new trains during this budgetary year.
The Rs 5,300-crore MUTP-2 is being partially funded by a World Bank loan of Rs 1,910 crore, while the rest is being funded by the MMRDA and the railways in equal parts. One of the components of the projects, which took off in 2012, is the purchase of 864 Electric Multiple Units (EMU) coaches.
At present, tests are under way on two 12-car rakes in Mumbai. Once the two are approved, the MRVC will begin procuring the 72 rakes, which will have 12 coaches each.
The size of MMRDA’s budget for 2014-15 has increased by a slight 5 per cent from Rs 4,028 crore last year. UPS Madan, metropolitan commissioner at the MMRDA, said, “The authority has continued to make huge provision of funds for more crucial infrastructure projects for the city and the Mumbai metropolitan region. This includes Metro rail, monorail, flyovers, rail-over bridges, creek bridges and road network.”
Other projects for which the MMRDA has apportioned a significant part of the budgetare expanding the Mumbai Metro network and development of transport infrastructure in the metropolitan areas beyond the main city under the Rs 3,628-crore extended Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP).
While metro projects have been sanctioned Rs 634 crore in the 2014-15 budget, the MMRDA has dished out Rs 650 crore, which includes the funds needed for landacquisition, to the extended MUIP project. The work will include construction of four flyovers, a creek-bridge over Revas creek from Revas and Karanja, and two bridges at Mankoli-Motegaon road and Kalyan-Bhiwandi NH-222, near Ulhas creek, among other projects.Besides, for the metropolitan region, the MMRDA has allocated Rs 25 crore for the Virar-Alibaug Multi Modal corridor, as against the Rs 50-crore allocation last year.
The project is at present on a slow track due to complexities involved in land acquisition.Of the Rs 634 crore for metro projects, Rs 500 crore have been set aside for the 33.5-km Colaba-Bandra-Seepz underground Metro corridor.
Similarly, the authority has allocated Rs 400 crore for the second phase of the monorail corridor from Wadala to Jacob Circle near Byculla. While the first phase from Chembur to Wadala was opened for public use in February, the second phase is likely to be completed in 2015.
Among other projects for the city, the MMRDA has apportioned Rs 50 crore for the Worli-Sewri corridor, Rs 25 crore for the Sewri-Nhava-Sheva-Mumbai-Trans Harbour Link and Rs 65 crore to develop civic amenities within the Bandra-Kurla Complexbusiness district.
