Maharashtra Government To Discuss Key Infrastructure Projects
The Maharashtra state government has finally decided to have a serious discussion after a long gap about four infrastructure projects that have been stalled for more than a year. The total worth of these four infrastructure projects is approximately Rs. 11,000 crore.
Projects that will be discussed
The four projects were proposed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). The meeting is expected to be held by October 30th where various infrastructure projects will be discussed and screened for possible clearance. These projects will include the Bandra-Versova sea link, capacity expansion of Mumbai-Pune Expressway, construction of a water transport system and the controversial Worli-Haji Ali sea link. Among these, the key projects that will be discussed are the Worli-Haji Ali sea link and Bandra-Versova sea link.
These four projects were cleared by MSRDC about 10 months to a year ago and had sent them for screening to the respective state government departments. However, some of these projects were stalled for the entire period.
Worli-Haji Ali sea link deal may be scrapped
Out of the four projects being considered for serious discussion, the Worli-Haji Ali sea link is the most controversial one. The contract was awarded to Reliance Infrastructure Ltd last year. However, the contractor had announced that it would exit the project citing differences with MSRDC. A mediator was assigned to resolve this dispute. The mediator had slammed the government for changing the terms and conditions after MSRDC awarded the contract, and hence breached its contract with Reliance Infrastructure. The mediator had indirectly implied that the firm was not liable to pay any penalty for exiting the contract.
Apart from changing the contract terms and conditions, the government had refused to extend support to both MSRDC and Reliance Infra. There were also disputes over the non-availability of casting yard and lack of other approvals. The project was intended to reduce the peak-hour traffic snarls between the western suburbs and south Mumbai, and it was worth Rs. 4,500-crore.
The state sub-committee on infrastructure may officially scrap the contract soon. MSRDC has currently two options regarding the project: It can either invite fresh tenders for the project or wait for the central government to give the environmental clearance for Mumbai’s coastal road plan. The state will have to wait for at least two years for either of these process to take place.
