Bandra-Worli sea link to meet '08 deadline
The much-delayed Bandra-Worli sea link will be completed and opened to traffic by December 2008, MSRDC minister Anil Deshmukh assured the legislative assembly during the question hour on Wednesday.
By TNN |
NAGPUR: The much-delayed Bandra-Worli sea link will be completed and opened to traffic by December 2008, MSRDC minister Anil Deshmukh assured the legislative assembly during the question hour on Wednesday. The minister also told the house that a penalty would be levied on Hindustan Construction Company, the constructor of the sea link, if it fails to meet the December 2008 deadline.
The issue was raised in the Assembly by senior Shiv Sena legislator Datta Nalawade. He pointed out that the cost of the project, which promises to ease out Mumbai’s traffic burden, had shot up from Rs 800 crore in 2000 to Rs 1,306 crore now due to the inordinate delay.
Mr Deshmukh claimed that the delay had been caused due to changes in the alignment of the sea-bridge on protest from the fishing community. He acknowledged that the project should have been completed by 2004 but delay over several reasons has resulted in actual work beginning in October 2004.
But the minister refuted the Opposition’s charge that the contractor has threatened to stop work if the cost escalation was not met by the MSRDC. The MSRDC had made all necessary payments to the contractor and work on the project was in progress at war-footing, the minister claimed. NCP legislator Nawab Malik insisted on a penalty to the contractor if the latest deadline was not honoured.
No diversion of MMRDA funds
Minister of state for urban development Rajesh Tope on Tuesday said that funds of Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) would not be diverted. Tope was replying to a motion from the BJP’s Vinod Tawade, Sanjay Kelkar.
Mr Tawade and others alleged that the funds for MMRDA’s development works were being diverted as loans to Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. Mr Tope informed that Rs 805 crore was given to MSRDC as loan for development projects under the jurisdiction of MMRDA.
The issue was raised in the Assembly by senior Shiv Sena legislator Datta Nalawade. He pointed out that the cost of the project, which promises to ease out Mumbai’s traffic burden, had shot up from Rs 800 crore in 2000 to Rs 1,306 crore now due to the inordinate delay.
Mr Deshmukh claimed that the delay had been caused due to changes in the alignment of the sea-bridge on protest from the fishing community. He acknowledged that the project should have been completed by 2004 but delay over several reasons has resulted in actual work beginning in October 2004.
But the minister refuted the Opposition’s charge that the contractor has threatened to stop work if the cost escalation was not met by the MSRDC. The MSRDC had made all necessary payments to the contractor and work on the project was in progress at war-footing, the minister claimed. NCP legislator Nawab Malik insisted on a penalty to the contractor if the latest deadline was not honoured.
No diversion of MMRDA funds
Minister of state for urban development Rajesh Tope on Tuesday said that funds of Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) would not be diverted. Tope was replying to a motion from the BJP’s Vinod Tawade, Sanjay Kelkar.
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Mr Tawade and others alleged that the funds for MMRDA’s development works were being diverted as loans to Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. Mr Tope informed that Rs 805 crore was given to MSRDC as loan for development projects under the jurisdiction of MMRDA.
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