Mumbai Monorail Project Faces Hiccups
India’s first monorail, which was supposed to commence its services in September this year, is facing hiccups. This may push its date of commencing by few months. The monorail is facing roadblock in relation with traffic dispersal system.
The Mumbai monorail is a monorail project in India as a part of its expansion of public transport system. Earlier monorail projects were closed in 1920s. This is the first monorail project in the country since then. The project is implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in collaboration with a consortium of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Scomi Engineering, a Malaysian infrastructure firm.
The expected cost of the project is approximately Rs. 203 billion and will be built in two phases. The project will connect south Mumbai to western suburbs through Jacob Circle and Chembur via Wadala, and then the eastern suburbs via Thane. The monorail will service about 300,000 commuters along this stretch. The construction of first phase was planned to begin in 2009 and the first line was scheduled to complete in 2011. However, due to delays, it is now expected to begin operations in 2013.
Phase-I connects Jacob Circle to Chembur via Wadala, Mulund to Borivali via Goregaon, Virar to Chikhaldongri, Lokhandwala to Kanjurmarg through Santacruz SEZ and Thane to Dahisar via Mira Bhayandar.
Phase-II will connect Kalyan to Dombivli via Ulhasnagar, Chembur to Kopar Khairane via Ghatkopar, Mahape to Kalyan via Shil Phata and Thane to Kalyan via Bhiwandi.
Roadblocks for the project
The project had already got delayed due to various reasons. However, the roadblock came in the form of uncertainty over traffic dispersal system. There is no consensus between MMRDA, the traffic police and the BMC over traffic dispersal and management. The traffic police department has called the MMRDA’s traffic plans as impractical and difficult to implement. MMRDA had designed a plan creating traffic medians, parking bays and side pavements for giving way to commuters.
The Empowered Committee (EC) for the Mumbai makeover project has asked the three parties to visit the site together and take a decision on traffic management.
Effects on real estate
An infrastructure project always impacts property prices in the project linked localities. The monorail project too has already driven up real estate prices.
The commute time between Chembur and Wadala will be reduced by 21 minutes after the first line of the monorail project is complete. Currently, the residential space in Chembur is available at a price of Rs. 12,000-16,000 per sq-ft, while rental value of a 2-3 BHK flat varies between Rs. 18,000-25,000. In Wadala, the capital value ranges between Rs. 15,000-30,000 per sq-ft and rental value ranges between Rs. 20,000-30,000 for 2-3BHK.
Experts anticipate that once the Monorail comes into operation, prices in these areas and in areas on the Chembur-Wadala stretch such as Tilak Nagar, Kurla, Chunabhatti, JTD Nagar and Wadala Junction, will rise by atleast 20 per cent. While appreciation in prices is expected, one will have to wait to find out the actual impact of the project on Chembur and Wadala properties.
