Three agencies are behind hellish highways

MUMBAI: While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has received well-deserved flak for the state of city’s roads, it is not the only government agency responsible for your bone-rattling commute.

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The shambolic Western Express Highway (WEH) and Eastern Express highway (EEH) are the responsibility of agencies other than the BMC – Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), Public Works Department (PWD) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

These agencies function out of sync and have just one thing in common – passing the buck.

HT took a ride down both highways on Sunday and found the WEH is in far worse shape that the EEH, and responsible for the city’s worst commutes.

While PWD is responsible for maintaining the entire highway, the 12 flyovers on it are the responsibility of PWD and MSRDC. However, the picture isn’t that simple. A galling example is the Dindoshi flyover. Thanks to poor planning, PWD is responsible for maintaining one side of it while MSRDC is responsible for the other.

MSRDC officials were quick to pass the buck, saying Mumbai Entry Point Limited, which mans five toll plazas, is supposed to maintain the flyovers.

MSRDC chief engineer DN Salunkhe said, “Although MEPL is supposed to repair potholes, we monitor the flyovers under our jurisdiction regularly to ensure no potholes remains unattended by MEPL.”

MMRDA built three flyovers on WEH but their maintenance was handed to PWD this year.

PWD officials, meanwhile, blamed the rains. PWD secretary SB Tamsekar said, “We have deploy squads to fix potholes as soon as they are reported. However, it is difficult to stop them from reappearing because of heavy rains. Once the rains are over, we will repair the entire highway. We expect this will be done by October 14.”

Although special teams have been set up to repair potholes, the highway has remained in poor condition through the monsoon as none of them follows guidelines framed by the Standing Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), comprising road experts, which the Bombay High Court appointed in 2006.

Nandkumar Salvi, a member of the committee, said, “In court, the agencies said they were ready to accept the guidelines. But none has followed them properly. In this case, we cannot expect roads to remain intact even if they bring in best materials to fix potholes.”