Mumbai: The BMC has set a target to complete the concretisation of 324 kilometers of roads in the eastern and western suburbs within the next 240 days, from October 1,2024 to May 31, 2025. So far, only 30% of the concretisation work has been finished since it began in January 2023. The civic authorities have instructed road engineers to compile a detailed list of roads for concretisation in their respective areas and to develop a monthly schedule to ensure the project stays on track.
Additional municipal commissioner Abhijeet Bangar took a review meeting of concretisation of roads on Tuesday. He said, "Constructing cement concrete roads generally takes between 30 to 45 days, covering everything from excavation to project completion and resuming traffic. The sub-engineer and assistant engineer are tasked with preparing a list of roads for concretisation for the first and second phases in their respective areas. They must create a detailed monthly schedule, ensure timely follow-up, and prioritise road development tasks."The concretisation work encounters challenges, particularly in obtaining the no-objection certificate from the traffic police and relocating various underground utilities. Addressing these issues, Bangar emphasised, "Effective coordination with BMC and different under ground utility services is crucial to ensure that roadworks are completed within the established timeframe." The BMC will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) next week. Under this agreement, IIT-B will oversee and ensure high standards and quality in cement concretisation work.
To address the issue of potholes, the BMC has undertaken a road concretisation project. Last year, it awarded contracts worth Rs. 6,080 crore to five firms for phase 1, which represents the largest civic contract to date. Phase 2 will see an additional Rs. 6,000 crore allocated for further road concretisation. However, the Rs. 1,600 crore contract for roads in the island city, initially given to Roadways Solution Infra India Limited (RSIIL), was terminated. The BMC has since sought new bids and issued a work order to a new contractor for these roads, work on which will start from October 1.
Total road network in Mumbai - 2050 kms
Concretised till now - above 1,000 kms
Yet to concretised...Phase 1 - 397 kms ...906 roads.
Phase 2...309 kms. ...1,212 roads
Work completed in phase 1 - 30%
Phase 2 - concretisation will start from October 1.
