सृजनशील विचारांचा प्रवाह स्रोत
The Mumbai Coastal Road project is a new star in the city’s infrastructure to reduce its traffic stress considerably. The main objective of this project is to provide an alternative trunk road between south Mumbai and the western suburb along the sea coast, which will make traffic planning in the city easier. The project is split into two phases: with the 1st phase connecting Marine Drive to Worli already up and running, the work on the 2nd phase is underway. Besides providing a solution to the ensuing traffic surge in the city, this project will also add to the city’s green-drive initiatives and make commuting from distant suburbs to south Mumbai much easier.
As an effective solution to the growing traffic problem, this ongoing project is planned to promote eco-friendly and dynamic urban development. Discussions for the Coastal Road in Mumbai first took place in the 1960s and came up many times through successive governments as one of the proposed alternative routes connecting the city. However, the need for this project became more acute after 2000. The 1st phase of the Mumbai coastal road features twin tunnels, each nearly 2 km long, connecting the Princess Road bridge at Marine Lines to Priyadarshini Park at Malabar Hill. The construction of the twin tunnels used three different structures: the unbroken tunnel type, the circular type, and the ram type. These tunnels are made with the help of a Mavala tunnel boring machine. Also, there are three interchanges on this route. The first interchange is at Emerson Garden, the second at Haji Ali, and the third at Worli. There are underground parking facilities at the interchanges where 1600 cars can be parked. The coastal road is 8-lane wide, but the road in the tunnel has 6 lanes. The Coastal Road will save 70% of the commute time and reduce noise and air pollution considerably.
In order to properly design the traffic planning and transportation system in the erstwhile Greater Bombay, the then administration had given the task of traffic planning in old Mumbai to Wilbur Smith and Associates in 1962. The company, owned by Wilbur Stevenson Smith, had been engaged in traffic planning consultancy since 1952, as one of the best in the business with enough goodwill through various projects in the UK and Kolkata, India.
Wilbur Smith’s company was assigned the responsibility of addressing the traffic issues in Greater Bombay and proposing solutions. Smith conducted an in-depth study over a period of about 18 months and presented his findings to the Union Transport Ministry. He delivered this report on December 19, 1963, with a target completion date for the project set for 1981. In the document, he also proposed the idea of a coastal road as a means to alleviate the traffic problem. Had Smith’s recommendations been executed at that time, Mumbai would likely not be facing the traffic congestion it experiences today. He advocated for the development of 10 freeways, along with 24 major roads and expressways.
To deal with the increasing traffic problem in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government, on the order of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan dated June 30, 2011, formed a 10-member Joint Technical Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of the Commissioner of Mumbai Municipal Corporation to study and make recommendations on the coastal road proposal in Mumbai owing to lack of space for new roads through the city. The various points to be examined by the committee included the type of the proposed coastal road (either an elevated road or a sea bridge), technical feasibility, and its impacts on the environment and nearby areas, etc.
The Joint Technical Advisory Committee of 10 high-ranking officers, including the Commissioner of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, collaborated on this topic and presented its comprehensive report and suggestions, spanning approximately 50 pages, to the Maharashtra government on December 29, 2011. This document outlined the rationale for initiating the project, the necessity of a coastal road for Mumbai, the proposed route for the coastal road, and its potential environmental impact. The report also covered the associated costs, along with the regulations and policies from both central and state governments. Following this examination, the committee advocated for a coastal road measuring 35.6 km via Jagannath Bhosale Marg and the Nariman Point to Kandivali Link Road.
The Mumbai Municipal Corporation conducted another study to check the feasibility of constructing a coastal road. The report was favorable, but the project was turned down by the environment department of the central government, citing violations of CRZ and other environmental regulations. At that time, the Manmohan Singh government was at the center with the Congress-NCP coalition government in the state under the Congress Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.
In April 2014, Lok Sabha elections were held in the country, followed by the state assembly elections within 6 months. The Bhartiya Janata Party came to power in both the center and the state, defeating the Congress. After Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, the BJP led by Devendra Fadnavis formed the government in Maharashtra with Shivsena as the alliance. Both the leaders expressed confidence that the formation of the BJP government at the centre and in the state would give impetus to the stalled projects.
After the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition government came to power in Maharashtra, the new Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered revival of many infrastructure projects, including the MCRP and MTHL, which were shelved by the previous governments. He announced the fast movement of the coastal road proposal that included the Nariman Point-Bandra and Versova-Kandivali links.
The initiatives of Fadnavis resulted in an agreement signed between the Maharashtra government and a Netherlands-based company on 6 June 2015 for the coastal road project. The Netherlands-based company was selected for the project due to its global reputation for the eco-friendly construction of marine infrastructure required for the Mumbai coastal roads project
Devendra Fadnavis extended support to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation for the completion of the Mumbai Coastal Road project in time. Mumbai Municipal Corporation on 8 June 2015 selected M/s STUP Consultants Pvt Ltd. and M/s Ernst & Young to carry out studies on the feasibility and environmental impact of the project and prepare DPR and Feasibility Report. He was presented with a comprehensive plan to construct a 35 km. long, 8-lane coastal road from Marine Drive to Kandivali. According to this plan, the entire length of the coastal road would be constructed in two phases: the first phase from Marine Drive to Worli and the second phase from Worli to Kandivali.
The project report prepared by the Technical Advisory Committee of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation was made available on its website in June 2015 for citizens’ supports and objections. About 3375 comments were received from citizens, of which 1663 comments were in support of the project, while 1712 were objections against the project. After considering all of these reviews, it was decided to amend it.
There was no provision in the 1991 notification of the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the construction of roads along the sea coast. Therefore, the administration had sent a proposal to the Ministry of Environment and Forests to amend the Sea Boundary Rules 2011 for construction along the sea coast. Taking a decision on the said proposal, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change granted a no-objection certificate to the Coastal Road Project on 30 December 2015.
The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority was established at the state level as per the provisions in Section 3 Sub-section L and Section 3 of the Environment Protection Act under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which is responsible for the protection of the coastal environment of the state, including the pollution control in the coastal areas and implementing the necessary measures for the same. This authority was reconstituted on 13 April 2015 by the Central Government. The body of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone is comprised of 12 members, of which 8 members represent various departments of the government. The coastal road project was discussed and approved through a meeting held by the Maharashtra coastal zone authority on 30 September 2016.
The Mumbai coastal road project received the final approval from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change on 11 May 2017. Devendra Fadnavis had been constantly following up for approval, as the same was necessary for the coastal road project. On behalf of the state government, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis himself answered all the questions asked by the then Union Minister Anil Dave’s department. Anil Dave himself was monitoring the developments in this project. Devendra Fadnavis thanked Anil Dave and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of the people of Maharashtra and Mumbai after receiving permission for the coastal road.
The Mumbai Municipal Corporation approved the construction contract of 10.58 km. in the first phase of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project. An estimated cost of Rs. 12 thousand 721 crores was allocated for this phase.
The Bhumi Pooja of the first phase of construction of Mumbai Coastal Road was performed on 16 December 2018 at Amerson’s Garden, Kumbala Hill. The groundbreaking ceremony was performed at the hands of then Shivsena party chief Uddhav Thackeray, courtesy Mumbai Municipal Corporation Mayor Vishweshwar Mahadeshwar. The CM Devendra Fadnavis was not even invited to the ceremony. This type of unparliamentary behavior to the CM of the state was a rare incident, which was probably aimed at grabbing the credit for the project for the Shivsena, as some new projects were to be inaugurated in the state by PM Modi only after two days.
The Bombay High Court stayed the work of the coastal road in response to petitions filed in the court opposing the construction of the coastal road.
Devendra Fadnavis, then the leader of the opposition, extended all help and advice to the state government to challenge the stay order by the High Court in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court on December 17 2019 lifted the stay on the coastal road and allowed construction there as the state government followed all the rules laid down by the environment department of the central government and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Authority.
After the 2019 elections, Uddhav Thackeray broke the alliance with the BJP and captured power in the state with the help of Congress and the NCP. Then in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred and the world came to a standstill. The coastal road project faced interruption once again, and this time practically halted during the period 2020 to 2021.
After the Corona crisis finally came to an end in 2021, within just six months, there was a change of power in the state once again. Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena formed the government in the state with the BJP as its ally. Devendra Fadnavis, assuming the responsibility of Deputy Chief Minister, took stock of the development works, including the MCRP. On 19 September 2022, he held a meeting on the issues related to the Coastal Road project and got them resolved shortly, even earning the confidence of the Koli community with a pledge of full cooperation from them. Eventually, the coastal road project work from Princes Street to Worli, including the subway and underground tunnel, was completed up to 62 percent.
Almost 80 percent of the construction of underground tunnels and flyovers in the first phase of Coastal Road was completed, with the tentative time for project finish kept around November 23. However, due to the change in the design of the beams required in the coastal road bridge, the project duration extended till May 2024.
On Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj’s memorial day, i.e., March 11, 2024, 1st phase of the Mumbai coastal road inaugurated between Marine Drive and Worli, in the presence of Chief tried Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. The 2nd phase of the project will pass through Worli, Bandra, and Versova to end at Kandivali. Further extension of the coastal road up to Virar is also on the cards.
The Chief Minister together with the Deputy Chief Ministers inspected the Mumbai Coastal Road on June 10, 2024. The Nariman Point to Haji Ali Tunnel was also inaugurated on this occasion.
With Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis taking a test drive on the bow-string arch bridge connecting the coastal road and the Worli side of the Bandra-Worli Sealink, the road was opened to traffic on Friday, 13 September 2024. Due to this bridge, Mumbaikars will be able to travel directly from Princes Street to Bandra.
The Uttar Vahini Bridge connecting the Dharmaveer Swarajyarakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Road and the Worli-Bandra Sea Bridge was inaugurated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on January 26, 2025. The Coastal Road will not only add to the prestige of Mumbai but will also help reduce air pollution in the city by cutting travel time and fuel use. After its inauguration on January 26, three more lanes will be opened from January 27, including the inter-lane from Marine Drive to Prabhadevi, the inter-lane from Marine Drive to Bindumadhav Thackeray Chowk, and the inter-lane from Bindumadhav Thackeray Chowk connecting the Sea Setu and heading towards Bandra.
Motorists in Mumbai must be raring to take their first drive on a fully complete Mumbai Coastal Road adorned with tunnels and bridges. As an important milestone in the city’s development, this 29 km. long grade-separated expressway will promise the citizens a beautiful, fast, and less polluted drive over a long stretch and elevate Mumbai to the league of top metropolises in the world.
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