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Opinion

A transformative trail

A bunch of ongoing ambitious infrastructure projects in Mumbai is set to script an indelible growth story; write Pawan Sain & Nimisha Jha

A transformative trail
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Mumbai, the city that never sleeps, is a graspable reality we envision through this famous metaphorical expression. The latest buzz catching the city is the infrastructural boom significantly revolutionizing its urban spaces. The upcoming airport at Navi Mumbai, expanded metros, and shifting road patterns will not only escalate and transform the growth of the city but substantially cater to solving significant issues of expanding urbanization, leading to a thriving socio-economic and commercial boom for the state as a whole.

The city is witnessing some ambitious projects going on that will change the face of the city in the foreseeable future. There are three big projects: the coastal road that will run from the west side of the city; the network of metro lines and the trans harbour link.

The trans-harbour link of Mumbai is a significant milestone, with the longest sea bridge connecting Mumbai with Navi Mumbai. Commencement of the bridge will be at Sewri, crossing Thane Creek all the way to Chirle village, near Nhava Sheva.

This will lead to direct connectivity between Nhava sea port and Mumbai-Pune Expressway, saving considerable time with direct access to south Mumbai from Navi Mumbai. Along with the livelihood of the local fishermen, environmental protection has also been taken into consideration. Another technological innovation of Reverse Circulation Drilling has been used to create minimum disturbance beneath the seabed, thus leading to sustainable ecological development.

The coastal road is a 22-km long freeway connecting Marine Lines in the South to Kandivali in the north. So far Mumbai has been operating on two highways – the eastern express highway and western express highway, along with three railway lines. However, the upcoming Coastal Road will run from the Marine Drive of South Mumbai all the way to Kandivali, with three multi-level interchanges at Haji Ali, Pedder Road (Amarsons Garden) and Worli sea face. It also has an underground parking facility which could house 1,800 vehicles. The tunnel which will connect Marine Drive to Malabar Hills is going to look like Shanghai, with a unique undersea corridor of approx. 40 feet in diameter to be ready by 2023. There will also be a walking track of a 20-metre-width and 8.5-km-length with 110 hectares of green space on the reclaimed land along the coastal road. This project will reduce travel time by one-third and will also help resolve the present traffic congestion in the region.

The Mumbai metro line is going to be a one-of-its-kind engineering marvel. This will aid the commuters of Mumbai, bringing last-mile connectivity by expanding metro lines and suburban railways. The newly created metro line is 33.5-km-long, with a fully integrated underground network of 27 sub stations. Building a metro line in a congested city like Mumbai with narrow roadways at the same junction besides and across the heritage buildings has been one of the biggest challenges for the project.

However, the latest novice technology is the Australian Tunnelling Method that manages the vibrational limits for the lines across the city. The Mumbai Metro Phase III has successfully finished tunnelling under the main water channel across the Mithi river, making it the only second Metro corridor in the region to accomplish this feat.

Further, to tap into the area of slum redevelopment, as Dharavi is known to be the biggest slum in Asia, some of the railway land, roughly 47.5 acres, has been transferred to the Dharavi redevelopment project. The Maharashtra government aims to finish the rehabilitation in seven years. The idea is to convert Dharavi to a commercial hub like BKC. The transformation has to be seen from the point of formalising the informal sector. In addition, planning to redevelop the slums around the airport is also underway.

Megapolis Mumbai will essentially be transformed with this new-scale development but will it be at the cost of environmental degradation is a heartening question to ponder upon. Till many years, the debate has always been on pro-developmental strategy. However, the challenge now remains is growth and economic security with ecological preservation. Perils of development often have a difficulty managing ecology with economics. However, the transformation of Mumbai is trying to address this concern, as stated by experts, leaving an indelible growth story. Some of the concerns will be: addressing the traffic congestion issues grappling the city for so long, boosting the real estate market which saw a lull till the recent covid crisis, and churning the city to be one of the fastest growing and emerging economies in the times to come.

To sum up, these infrastructure projects will be critical in ensuring the growth of Mumbai. Being home to some of the country's largest businesses, these developments will help in encouraging more commercial growth across the region while also changing the way Mumbaikars commute, thereby improving the quality of life of residents.

Pawan Sain is Joint Secretary, EAC-PM; and Nimisha Jha is Director (Finance), NITI Aayog. Views expressed are personal

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