The BMC on Wednesday demolished 87 residential and commercial structures coming in the way of its ambitious Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project. The action was taken on the 700mt stretch from Civil and Sessions Court in Dindoshi to Film City Marg Junction.
Out of 237 structures on the stretch, 161 are legal. However, the owners of 75 structures had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, which was dismissed. They had further challenged the HC order in the Supreme Court, but the apex court upheld the HC order. So the BMC’s P-North ward planned an immediate demolition drive.
Proposed tunnels will run under SGNP
GMLR is a nearly 12km under-construction east-west connector with 5+5 lanes, from near the Western Express Highway at Goregaon to the Eastern Express Highway near Nahur.
As a part of the Link Road, the civic body had proposed 4.75km and 1.6km tunnels that will run under Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), with the remaining 6km stretch to be covered via two flyovers and a 2km road which will be widened to ensure smooth movement of traffic.
55 structures demolished in January to clear way for GMLR project
In January, the BMC had demolished 55 unauthorised structures in Bhandup in the eastern suburbs to clear the way for the GMLR project. The BMC has set a deadline to complete the first two phases by December 2023 at a cost of ₹1,060 crore. Once ready, the road is estimated to cut down travel time between Mulund and Goregaon to 20 minutes.
Recently, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report revealed that the estimated project cost rose significantly owing to the delay in obtaining a clearance for the longer tunnel under SGNP.
