Year-Ender 2025: BMC’s Administrator Era Sees Bridges, Coastal Road And Mega Projects Take Shape

Mumbai, Dec 29: The country’s richest municipal corporation has completed nearly four years under state-appointed administrative rule this year. Despite the prolonged absence of an elected body, the period has emerged as a defining phase for infrastructure development, with several long-pending and ambitious projects finally seeing the light of day in 2025, while many others are still underway.

Bridges completed

. Constructed in the 1960s, the Gokhale Bridge—an important east–west connector in Andheri—was declared dilapidated in 2018 after a portion of it collapsed, killing two people. After nearly a 30-month wait, the bridge was reopened to traffic on May 11. However, its reopening brought national embarrassment due to a major misalignment with the adjoining C. D. Barfiwala Flyover.

. The Vikhroli East–West connector was completed in June this year, nearly seven years after construction began. Notably, it is India’s longest railway overbridge to feature an open-web girder system spanning active railway tracks.

. Carnac Bridge in south Mumbai, connecting P. D’Mello Road to Masjid Bunder, was opened to traffic in July. It was renamed Sindoor in memory of Operation Sindoor following the Pahalgam attack. The 328-metre bridge eased congestion at Mohammad Ali Road and CSMT. The 150-year-old structure was demolished in 2022 after being declared unsafe and rebuilt at a cost of Rs 60 crore, though delays in its opening had drawn public anger.

Bridges underway

Work on the Madh–Versova cable-stayed bridge will finally begin after all environmental clearances were secured. First proposed in the 1967 Development Plan, the bridge will span Versova Creek from Madh Jetty Road to near Fisheries University Road, cutting travel time from 90 minutes to 10 minutes and reducing the distance from 20 km to 2.6 km.

In December, the Bombay High Court approved the BMC’s 26.3-km Coastal Road North project from Versova to Bhayandar, which could require the felling of up to 45,000 mangroves. The 42-month elevated corridor is expected to cut travel time along this stretch by 30–45 minutes once completed.

Road concretisation halfway

Announced on July 23, 2022, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed the BMC to complete the Rs 17,000-crore road concretisation project within two years. Launched in January 2023, the project is only halfway done, covering part of the 699.10 km planned across 2,121 roads in two phases.

First-ever housing lottery

For the first time, the BMC conducted a housing lottery for 426 flats across the city, expected to generate around Rs 308 crore. Priced between Rs 55 lakh and Rs 1 crore, the flats are located in Kandivali, Bhandup, Byculla, Kanjurmarg, Jogeshwari and Goregaon. Of the total, 381 units are reserved for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and 45 for the Low-Income Group (LIG), with carpet areas ranging from 269 to 489 sq ft.

First elevated nature trail

After four years, the city’s first elevated nature trail at Malabar Hill opened in April. The Rs 25-crore, 470-metre-long, 2.4-metre-wide walkway can hold up to 400 people and offers stunning views of Girgaum Chowpatty. Featuring an elevated wooden deck with railings and vertical supports, it has quickly become an iconic tourist attraction.

First phase of Coastal Road

The 10.58-km Mumbai Coastal Road was fully opened 24/7 on August 15, stretching from the Princess Street Flyover at Marine Drive to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. The new route has reduced travel time between Bandra and Marine Drive to 10 minutes, providing a faster alternative for thousands of daily commuters.

Longest seafront promenade

One of the city’s most iconic public spaces, the long-awaited seafront promenade along the Coastal Road, opened to the public on August 15. Stretching 7.47 km in length and 20 m in width, the first phase includes a 5.25-km stretch from Priyadarshini Park to Haji Ali and from Baroda Palace to Worli. The promenade, more than twice the length of Marine Drive’s 3.5-km walkway, is set to be fully completed within the next 18 months.

First desalination plant

Mumbai’s first desalination plant at Manori in the western suburbs, first proposed in 2007, will initially produce 200 million litres of water per day (expandable to 400 MLD) at an estimated cost of Rs 11,166 crore. The project covers construction, 20 years of maintenance and electricity. The contract was awarded in December 2025 after tenders were floated in 2023.

Eighth dam to be constructed

Mumbai’s eighth water source, a dam on the Gargai river in Palghar, which has been under discussion for nearly a decade, is finally underway. Expected to add 450 million litres of water daily to the city’s supply, the Rs 3,040-crore project follows the completion of the Middle Vaitarna Dam in 2014.

Lease of prime plots for revenue

In June, the BMC generated Rs 1,152 crore by auctioning two prime plots near Crawford Market and Worli, though a Malabar Hill plot’s sale was cancelled due to residents’ objections. Another high-value 23,822 sq m plot in Lower Parel is now up for a 30-year lease, expected to fetch around Rs 1,348 crore. The revenue from these plot leases will be used to fund the BMC’s ongoing and upcoming infrastructure projects.

New hoarding policy after 17 years

After 17 years, the BMC issued a revised “Advertising Guidelines–2025” in November to regulate outdoor ads across Mumbai. The rules ban hoardings above 40×40 ft, prohibit new ads on footpaths or terraces, and cap digital hoarding brightness at a 3:1 luminance ratio. The policy update was accelerated following the May 13, 2024 collapse of a 120×120 ft billboard in Ghatkopar that killed 17 people and injured over 70.

Decks cleared for BMC elections

The Supreme Court on May 6 passed directions to hold local body elections in Maharashtra, which were stalled since 2022 due to litigation relating to the implementation of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The court ordered that elections be held as per the OBC reservation that existed prior to the submission of the Banthia Commission report in July 2022. This led to the declaration of civic body elections across Maharashtra, including the BMC, which has been under administrative rule for almost four years—the first time in its history.

OC amnesty policy announced

On September 11, Minister Ashish Shelar announced a new policy to grant Occupation Certificates (OC) to more than 25,000 buildings in Mumbai constructed under the Development Control Regulations of the BMC, MHADA, SRA and other authorities, which were denied OCs for reasons beyond the occupants’ control.

Seen as a significant political move ahead of BMC elections, the Urban Development Department approved the OC amnesty policy on December 11, and the BMC is currently working on its standard operating procedures.

Top 17 floors of Tardeo’s Willingdon Heights vacated

On August 27, residents of the top 17 floors of the 34-storeyed Willingdon Heights CHS vacated their homes following Bombay High Court orders due to the lack of an OC. This was a one-of-its-kind action in Mumbai.

The residents are now waiting for the BMC to release its SOP for the OC Amnesty Scheme, under which they are expected to be considered for the grant of OC. For four months now, the 27 families have been staying in alternate accommodation.

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Poor AQI, GRAP IV implementation

On November 21, the BMC announced that if an area’s Air Quality Index (AQI) remains consistently above 200 despite ongoing mitigation efforts, industries and construction activities responsible for air pollution will be shut down under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP IV).

Although all construction activities were not stopped, several restrictions under GRAP IV were enforced as areas such as Mazgaon crossed an AQI of 300. Several hotspots were issued stop-work notices, including multiple Metro, Bullet Train and other major sites, for violating air pollution control norms.

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