Khar Subway flyover protest gains momentum

The controversial project will connect Khar to Bandra, Khar West with Bandra terminus and Santacruz East and the Western Express Highway (WEH) in three phases

MUMBAI Around 140 buildings in the Khar-Santacruz area stand to be affected by the BMC’s Khar Subway flyover project, which envisages an elevated road over the congested subway. Residents of Khar and Santacruz East have threatened to move the Bombay high court if the BMC does not heed their demands and change the proposed design which, in fact, was rejected by the civic body itself in 2018.

The Santacruz East Residents Association (SERA) held a crucial meeting on Sunday to deliberate on the proposed design and implications of the elevated bridge west-east connector project, recently tendered by the BMC

The residents, since mid-March, have been demanding the suspension of the controversial ₹2,400-crore tender to connect Khar to Bandra, Khar West with Bandra terminus and Santacruz East and the Western Express Highway (WEH) in three phases. They had earlier pointed out to chief minister Eknath Shinde and former BMC commissioner I S Chahal that the designs of the first two phases were faulty and requested the civic body to revert to the earlier plan linking the western end of Khar subway directly with WEH via an elevated road. This, however, is contingent upon the BMC acquiring the defence land that is currently encroached by the Golibar slum settlement.

Advocate Trivankumar Karnani, founder of the Mumbai North Central District Forum (MNCDF), told HT that the design would affect over 140 buildings between the Ist Road and the 12th Road in Khar-Santacruz. “There is only one open space, the Dinkar Patel Garden in Santacruz East, along the entire cluster,” he said. “V N Desai Hospital and two schools with narrow roads, less than nine metres wide, are around this garden. Since there is a direct opening from Golibar to WEH, there is no need to build the flyover above the garden and manoeuvre through tiny roads.”

The Santacruz East Residents Association (SERA) held a crucial meeting on Sunday to deliberate on the proposed design and implications of the elevated bridge west-east connector project, recently tendered by the BMC. The meeting was attended by office-bearers and members from the 140 buildings and featured a series of discussions led by Hemal Mehta, president of SERA, alongside Karnani. Also in attendance were several architects, advocates, chartered accountants, residents and trustees from the local school community. A total of 298 citizens attended the meeting.

The aim of the meeting was to critically assess the current bridge design proposed by the BMC, its financial implications and the potential impacts on the local infrastructure, community and open space. Participants expressed concerns over the project’s scale and alignment of the proposed design. It was unanimously decided that citizens would oppose the proposed design and ask the administration to rework the design and seek alternative solutions in consonance with the BMC’s Development Plan (DP) 2034.

Further action and community engagement strategies were outlined to ensure that all voices would be heard and that the proposed design aligned more closely with the sustainable development goals of the area.