Govt nod for Rs 54Kcr project likely
An MRVC official said that once the state government gives its approval, it would not take much time to get a clearance from the Railway Board.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is expected to approve most projects this year in light of the 2019 state and general elections. The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) is going to approach the state government for its approval of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) 3-A. Sources said the Rs 54,777-crore MUTP-3A may be sanctioned in a week’s time. Officials said that a meeting with the finance department secretary and urban development department secretary would be held in Mantralaya shortly.
An MRVC official said that once the state government gives its approval, it would not take much time to get a clearance from the Railway Board. “The blueprints of the station design and railway line survey have been prepared. We are in a position to float a tender today. After getting an approval from the Railway Board, the proposal will be approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs,” said the official.
Officials said a detailed project report of the MUTP-3A was sent to the state government at the end of April 2018. We are awaiting the state’s approval.
Railway minister Piyush Goyal had visited Mumbai thrice in the past mo-nth and the MUTP-3A had been discussed with the railway officials in all these meetings. The project is crucial for the city’s commuters. In a recently concluded meeting, MUPT-3A project was thoroughly discussed with the state government and railway officials too.
The MUPT-3A will help to reduce the crowd in Virar, Panvel, Bandra, Kalyan and Borivali. There will be an improvement on the suburban stations. A fast elevated corridor between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Panvel on the harbour line has been proposed in the project.
The deadline for completion of the MUTP-3A project is 2022-23. The state government will fund 50 per cent of the project. It means that the state government would pay Rs 27,3-88 crore to the MRVC for the project.
R.S. Khurana, chairman and managing director of the MRVC, said, “MUPT-3A has been submitted to the government of Maharashtra and the ministry of railways. We are positive about gaining their approval.”