State agencies hand over WEH, EEH to BMC

The delay in the procedure stems from the fact that talks on which agency should stake a claim on the advertising and toll revenues from the highways are still underway.

Mumbai: Commuters’ wait for pothole-free express highways under a single nodal agency is likely to be prolonged by at least two months. While both the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd (MSRDC) have handed over roads and flyovers on the Western Express Highway (WEH) and the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the civic body is yet to take physical possession.

On September 19, Hindustan Times was the first to report that civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal had announced at a meeting with assistant commissioners that the BMC wanted to maintain both WEH and EEH. (MSRDC)

The delay in the procedure stems from the fact that talks on which agency should stake a claim on the advertising and toll revenues from the highways are still underway. On September 19, Hindustan Times was the first to report that civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal had announced at a meeting with assistant commissioners that the BMC wanted to maintain both WEH and EEH. The official handing over via letters has been completed by both the agencies.

MSRDC has handed over 19 flyovers, including vehicular underpasses, to the BMC. At present, the toll collected at the five entry points of Dahisar, Mulund East, Mulund West, Airoli and Vashi is being collected by MSRDC. An official from MSRDC said that from 1995 to 2002, the agency took ₹2,100 crore as an upfront amount for the number of flyovers built. “The toll revenue and the revenue generated from advertisements and commercial space will also come to MSRDC till September 2027 per our agreement with the state government,” he said. “This is how we will recover the cost of construction of our flyovers.”

The MSRDC official confirmed that the handover of the express highways had been done by letter but the civic body had yet to take physical possession. “We have had a meeting with the BMC, and they have said they will send us a letter. We are still waiting to hear from them. This entire process of an official takeover can take over two months,” he said.

Ulhas Mahale, deputy municipal commissioner (infrastructure), when asked why the BMC had still not officially taken over WEH and EEH for maintenance, replied via a text message, “They are not ready to give advertisements rights.” Mahale did not divulge further details on this.

MMRDA too has formally handed over all the documents on roads, flyovers, some foot-over bridges and vehicular underpasses on WEH and EEH to the BMC. MMRDA commissioner SVR Srinivas said, “I have initiated the process and conveyed to the state government that the BMC should take possession of WEH and EEH. We have handed over and also written to the BMC. They have not yet taken over.”

When asked whether MMRDA would allow the BMC to generate revenue from hoardings on both express highways, Srinivas said, “In future, BMC should take the advertising revenue since they will maintain the highways.”

An MMRDA official in charge of WEH and EEH added, “We have given information of all works in hand and of all structures present on the two roads. So there should be no hurdle in the BMC’s way with regard to taking over and maintaining them now. We are waiting to hear from them.”