More than three years after the state government’s urban development department (UDD) refused to accord sanction for the construction of a new 18.00 meter wide DP road in Bhayandar (west), the public works department (PWD) attached to the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has planned to revive the proposal.
The civic administration had submitted the road construction proposal after getting a nod from the general body for the land modifications in accordance with the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act on March 20, 2013. It was contended that localities including Shastri Nagar, Nehru Nagar, Ganesh Deval Nagar and Kranti Nagar were having just a three-meter-wide pathway as an access. However, five years later the state government issued a notification in July 2018 stating that the rejection followed after consultations with the Director of Town Planning which opined that the move was not suitable in the planning point of view. The proposal remained on the back-burner for more than three years.
“The population of these slum clusters has already crossed the 1.5 lakh mark and it is the need of the hour to facilitate proper road connectivity to these pockets. Apart from following up with the UDD, we will also approach the town planning authority for incorporating the road in the new development plan (DP) which is under preparation,” said MBMC's executive engineer Deepak Khambit.
Exactly three years after its validity came to an end in January 2018, the proposed DP continues to stare at an uncertain future. On the other hand environmentalists allege that the road construction project is nothing but a conspiracy to wipe out the eco-sensitive area and promote illegal slums which have sprung up on land reclaimed by the local mafia.
