Shiv Sena mum on naming Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road after Shivaji Maharaj

Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road was inaugurated in 2021

Shiv Sena on Wednesday stayed mum on naming Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The standing committee members brought up the matter when a proposal for variation in cost of the flyover was taken up for a discussion. They also raised questions about the quality of the work.

The contract for the flyover, which was inaugurated in August 2021, was given in 2016 and the GST was implemented in 2017. The BMC now has to pay an additional R19.48 crore as GST cost to the contractor. On the variation of cost, BJP corporator Bhalchandra Shirsat raised doubts about the quality of the flyover, and asked about naming of the flyover.

The controversy over the name started after the Shiv Sena and the BJP proposed different names before the inauguration. While BJP MP Manoj Kotak proposed that it be named Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj flyover, Sena MP Rahul Shewale proposed the name of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti.

Swapnil Tembwalkar, the chairman of the works committee, approved the name Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for the flyover, but the proposal remains unsanctioned in the general body meeting since August. Prabhakar Shinde, group leader of the BJP, asked why the proposal hasn't been taken up in the general meeting yet.

He also told the standing committee that 129 cases of accidents have already been reported and one person has also died. Standing committee chairman Yashwant Jadhav refused to talk on the subject in the meeting and to the media.

The extra cost

The construction of the flyover started in 2017 with an initial cost of Rs 576 crore and it was expected to be ready by January 2019. As per the basic plan, the flyover was 2.1 km long, but there were two cost escalations: of Rs 56 crore to meet the new codes set by the Indian Road Congress and of Rs 82 crore due to extension of work. The standing committee approved the revised amount of Rs 714 crore in February 2020 with the plan of increasing the length.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani told the committee that the cost escalation is due to the GST, which wasn't in the picture when the contract was awarded. The decision of paying the GST cost to the contractor was taken after due procedure and advice by a retired judge and tax adviser of the BMC.

Aug
Month in 2021 the flyover was inaugurated