MMRDA should prepare road map for Mumbai: Deshmukh

Mumbai, Mar 7 (UNI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh today directed Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) to prepare a road map and implement it in order to solve traffic problems of city.

The Chief Minister gave this direction to MMRDA during a meeting held in Mantralaya to discuss the progress of the Metro Rail Project work.

At the meeting, Chief Secretary Johny Joseph, Secretary to Chief Minister Chintamani Sangeetrao, Principal Secretary Swadhin Kshatriya, MMRDA Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad, Urban Development Principal Secretary T C Benjamin, Special Project Department Secretary Sanjay Ubale, MMRDA Joint Commissioner Milind Mhaiskar and others were present.

Mr Deshmukh further said MMRDA should take special efforts to complete the Metro Railway Project at the earliest to ease the traffic woes of Mumbaiites. For this, MMRDA should prepare a road map and implement it time-boundly. MMRDA should also complete this project within a year, to which government would extend full co-operation, he said.

On the occasion, MMRDA Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad made a presentation on Metro the Railway Project, saying that the agency would complete 146.5 km long project in three phases, with nine corridors.

The meeting also had discussions on whether to have public-private partnership in the project.

Delhi Metro Railway Managing Director E Shreedharan suggested that the project should be on the lines of Tamil Nadu. He further said the master plan should be changed as to Colaba-Bandra-Charkop (second line) and Bandra-Mankhurd (third line). A total of Rs 19,608 crore expenditure is expected to be incurred on the two lines.

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