The Making Of Mumbai-Pune Expressway: Ex-IAS officer R.C. Sinha RC Sinha On Nitin Gadkari, Deadlines & Zero Compromise On Quality

Mumbai: Retired IAS officer R.C. Sinha recalled the challenges faced during the construction of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and spoke about the trust placed in him by then-PWD minister Nitin Gadkari to execute the ambitious infrastructure project connecting the two cities.

How RC Sinha Got the Mumbai-Pune Expressway Project

While speaking on The Indian Infra Show podcast with Aakash Bhavsar, Sinha said the Maharashtra government had initially received a proposal under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model worth nearly Rs 3,200 crore. However, the proposal was opposed by the then-PWD minister Nitin Gadkari, who in the cabinet said, "I cannot agree as Public Works Department minister to give a Rs 1,450 crore project for Rs 3,200 crore. If you still give it, I will resign from the Cabinet."

However, he suggested Sinha's name to the cabinet for the project. During the podcast, Sinha recalled his conversation with Gadkari, who called him in the evening and said, "Mumbai-Pune is your responsibility."

Mumbai Pune Expressway Challenges

Speaking about the major hurdles faced during the project, Sinha said the construction involved land acquisition, environmental clearances, arranging explosives, machinery and funding. He added that despite him believing the project would normally take nearly 60 months, the government had set a strict 36-month deadline.

However, acting on the strict guidelines, he said, "I gave the government 36-month commitment, gave myself 33 months and the contractor 30 months, keeping a buffer of 3 months."

Imported Machinery For Faster Work

Sinha also spoke about the hydraulic piling machines used during the project, saying the expressway could not have been completed manually while maintaining high-quality standards. He explained that modern construction equipment was imported for the project.

He explained modern construction equipment was imported for the expressway project. Sinha said hydraulic piling machines were used during bridge construction to speed up the process. According to him, each piling was going up to 30 metres, and by using the traditional methods, piling work that would normally take around 30 days but with imported hydraulic piling machinery, it took just eight hours and that too "with very little noise."

'This Mad Man Will Not Compromise On Quality'

The retired bureaucrat also spoke on the strict quality checks that he followed during the construction. He ensured that steel come directly from the steel mill and not from the rolling mill. He also stressed the importance of using steel mill for proper road compaction, adding that even if high-quality tar or cement is used, an uneven base would still make the road bumpy.

Recalling one incident, Sinha said he personally inspected an 800-metre stretch of road and found it uneven while driving over it. He then ordered the contractor to stop work and rebuild the entire portion after proper compaction. "This mad man will not compromise on quality," Sinha said, describing how contractors viewed his tough approach.

Rejected Lowest Bidder

Sinha also revealed that he rejected the lowest bidder for one of the project contracts and instead awarded it to another contractor whose bid was around Rs 7 crore higher. He said the lowest bid was declared a "non-responsive tender" after his calculations showed that the quoted amount was too low to realistically cover the cost of steel, cement, labour and machinery required for the project. According to Sinha, he believed the contractor would eventually compromise on quality if the project was executed at such a low cost.