The BMC aims to fast-track road concretisation, addressing delays over the past two years. However, ongoing roadworks have led to public complaints about traffic congestion. So, the Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani has ordered a halt on new road digging until existing work is completed. Only projects that can be finished before the monsoon will proceed, ensuring roads are motorable. The deadline for completion of ongoing roads is set for May 31.
So far, 1,333 km of roads have been concretised in Mumbai. The BMC is executing road concretisation in two phases, covering 324 km in Phase 1 and 377 km in Phase 2, with a total budget of Rs. 17,733 crore. However, the project faced delays last year due to various challenges beginning in January 2023. At present 187 concretisation works have been completed out of 698 roads in Phase 1. For Phase 2, launched in December 2024, 720 out of 1,420 roads are under construction. According to the BMC Budget 2025, 75% of Phase 1 and 50% of Phase 2 is targeted for completion before June 2025.
However, the dug up road has been a matter of inconvenience to the commuters as well as citizens. Gagrani said although the civic body aims to concretise all roads in the city, the contractors are directed to not dig any new roads until the existing works are done. The road works which can be completed before monsoon can be undertaken. “Although the BMC aims to concretise all roads in Mumbai, there have been objections raised by residents to not concretise the existing roads which are in good condition. If such proposals are submitted on residents’ demand to not concretise the road in a specific locality, the proposal will be considered,” said Gagrani.
He also said BMC is working with other agencies like MSRDC, MMRDA etc to ensure the traffic issue on the Western Express Highway (WEH) and Eastern Express Highway (EEH), and traffic problems on other major roads too are addressed and the roads in the city are potholes free. The BMC has also undertaken an Access Control Project for improvement of one junction on EEH and three junctions on WEH. A parking app has been developed and introduced in the next three months that will allow booking vehicle slots in advance along with online payment.
Walkability : The BMC has proposed a ‘Universal Footpath Policy’, set for implementation this year, to create pedestrian-friendly and accessible footpaths, especially for people with disabilities. The policy will be executed by the roads and traffic department, which has been allocated Rs. 5,100 crore for various projects.
