Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis with Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi
The Central Government gave its approval to the Mumbai Coastal Road Project on Monday. This project - a 35-kilometre-long road from Nariman Point to Kandivali in north Mumbai - is expected to reduce traffic congestion in the western suburbs of Mumbai. The Western Express Highway carries over 60 per cent of the city's traffic currently.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the ambitious coastal road project for Mumbai welcomed the decision, as the proposed four-lane road will have two corridors totally reserved for Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), to make public transport more effective.
"Thank you @PrakashJavdekarjee for approving coastal road for Mumbai. It's a dream come true. Best gift to Mumbai by Modiji's Govt," Mr Fadnavis tweeted after meeting Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in Delhi on Monday morning.
"Coastal road will decongest the traffic of Mumbai and will create 91 hectares of green spaces. Taking mumbai infra to next standard. Earlier govt was talking about coastal road for 5yrs. I'd promised Mumbai that will get it approved in five months," he said.
"Happy it took even lesser time. Timeline of Mumbai coastal road clearance. Draft Notification by 15th June. Final notification by 15th August," the Chief Minister said in series of tweets.
On June 6, Maharashtra government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of the Netherlands for obtaining technical advice on feasibility of building Metro track along the proposed coastal road connecting north and south Mumbai.
"It was proposed by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) four years ago. It has been a long wait to get environmental clearances. Last month too, MPs sat outside Parliament for it. Surely Mumbaikars will benefit from it. I'm confident that BMC will make it as good as the proposed plan of coastal road is, time bound." said Yuva Sena President Aditya Thackeray, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, alliance partner in Maharashtra government.
The coastal road project between Nariman Point and Kandivali in north Mumbai was conceived by the previous Congress-NCP government after it decided to drop the extension of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link project up to Haji Ali.