BMC gets 53.17 acre salt pan land for Dahisar-Bhayandar Link Road

The union government has leased 53.71 acres of salt pan land to BMC for the Dahisar-Bhayandar Link Road, set to ease commuting in three years.

Mumbai: Paving the way for the construction of the Dahisar-Bhayandar Link Road (DBLR) the union government has handed over 53.71 acres of salt pan land to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on a 99-year lease worth ₹12.9 crore.

BMC gets 53.17 acre salt pan land for Dahisar-Bhayandar Link Road

Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said, “The union salt ministry has transferred its land to the state government, removing a major hurdle in the construction of the DBLR.” He added that in three years, once the road is ready it will significantly shorten the commute from Nariman Point to Mira Bhayandar.

As per a notice issued earlier this year by the Salt Commissioner, part of the ministry of commerce and industry, the 53.174 acres of salt pan land is being given to the state on a 99-year lease worth ₹12.9 crore. The union ministry’s actions come two years after the BMC had awarded a tender for the road’s construction to a builder.

A letter from the ministry reads, “Any legal case existing or arising out of the land transfer proposal in regard to compensation to be paid to the lessees, etc or any other matter, shall be taken care of and defended by the transferee agency.” The ministry specified that transferred land is only to be used for building the DBLR. “The state government shall not transfer ownership of this concessional land to any other entity in future even for the same purpose,” the letter specified.

So far the existing network of Link Roads ends at Dahisar and then continues from Vasai. The missing 60m wide and 5km long stretch, passing through the Vasai creek, nearby mangrove land, and now the saltpans will connect these two areas around Bhayandar and reach all the way till the Subhash Chandra Bose maidan.

Bidding for this project began in October 2022, and Larson & Toubro won the tender in July 2024 quoting a total of ₹3,304 crore for the construction. The proposed elevated road will start near Kandarpada metro station in Dahisar West and lead to Uttan Road near Subhash Chandra Bose maidan in Bhayander West. In this 5km stretch, 1.5km is within the BMC’s jurisdiction and 3.5km is under the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation.