Mumbai: Following the Supreme Court’s in-principal approval to cut 95 trees in Goregaon East’s Film City for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project, the BMC is pressing for prompt tree removal permission to initiate excavation at the tunnel boring machine (TBM) launch site. Civic officials caution that any further delay could drive up project costs and impact timelines.
About The Tunnels
The tunnels will start at Film City in Goregaon East and emerge at Amar Junction in Mulund, currently a dense slum area. Of the total length, 5.30 km will be excavated using TBMs, with the remaining 1.35 km comprising approach roads and the box tunnel. Most components of the first TBM, imported from Japan for the excavation work of twin tunnels, have already arrived and are currently stored along Film City Road, approximately 1 km from the launch shaft site.
A massive pit—about 200 metres long, 50 metres wide, and 35 metres deep—will be excavated to lower and assemble the TBM for tunnelling work. "To begin digging this launch shaft, we need to clear the ground—hence, the felling of 95 trees is necessary,” said a senior civic official. The preliminary tunnelling phase comprises a 1.3 km box tunnel and ramp, sized 12m by 11.2m, linked to the launch shaft. Officials said that delays in tree clearance may drive up costs, as the contract includes a ‘No Limit’ clause allowing escalation for time overruns. The matter is scheduled for the next hearing in the apex court next week.
The BMC recently secured clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to divert 19.43 hectares of forest land for the Rs. 6,551-crore twin tunnel project. The civic body aims to complete the twin tunnels by October 2028. The 12.2-km GMLR will connect the Western Express Highway at Goregaon with the Eastern Express Highway at Mulund, cutting travel time from 75 to 25 minutes. The project, being executed in four phases, has a total cost of Rs. 14,000 crore Once complete, it will provide seamless east-west connectivity across Mumbai.
