BMC to begin work on citizen facilities
Mumbai: A day after the Supreme Court (SC) gave its nod to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to continue construction of recreational facilities and citizen services along the coastal Road, the civic body on Saturday said construction of halted work for the project will begin
Mumbai: A day after the Supreme Court (SC) gave its nod to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to continue construction of recreational facilities and citizen services along the coastal Road, the civic body on Saturday said construction of halted work for the project will begin.
An official from the coastal roads project told HT that these facilities will take two years to complete.
“Since we did not have permissions from SC till now, we only awarded tenders for the coastal road,” said the official. “The current deadline of November 2023 does not include the citizen facilities. Currently, we have put out a conceptual plan and floated for suggestions from general citizens and renowned architects.”
They will float a tender once the plan is finalised, it added. This landscaping project will require a minimum of 2 years to complete but the intention is to finish it simultaneously along the coastal road.
The apex court on Friday allowed the civic body to build butterfly parks and gardens along the coastal road saying development cannot be stopped in the name of climate change and sustainable development.
In December 2019, the SC barred BMC from constructing these facilities and upheld the same order in October 2020. On July 8, BMC once again sought permission from SC to begin the construction of citizen facilities along the coastal roads.
Shedding light on the work that will be undertaken following SC’s go-ahead, a press statement signed by MM Swami, chief engineer of the coastal road project, states that 25%-30% of the reclaimed area will be used for the coastal road, while the remaining 70%-75% area will be used for building recreational activities & citizen facilities which will include toilets, jogging track, cycle track, butterfly park, marine walkway, open theatre, children’s parks and playgrounds, police post, bus stops, underground footpath to cross the road, jetty etc.
The civic body listed some of the important facilities that will be created along the coastal road. Just like the promenade at Marine Drive and Worli, BMC will build a 7.5km long ‘Seaside Promenade’ between Priyadarshini Park in Malabar Hill to Bandra Worli Sea Link in Worli along the coastal road which will be the largest seaside walkway in Mumbai.
Additionally, three large underground parking facilities are proposed to be constructed along the coastal road with a capacity to park 1856 vehicles. BMC has planned to build these parking lots near the tourists’ spots.
