State Highway 42 commonly referred as ‘Ghodbundar Road’ started the
construction of three flyovers at Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada under the
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) on 21st September,
2010 and halted for a while as the forest department had put brakes on the
ongoing infrastructure projects in Thane.
The forest department
claimed that the construction of the three flyovers was violating the Private
Forest Act. The private contractors hired by MSRDC were Valecha Engineering Ltd.
The contractors had been directed to stop the work till they get the approval
from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
The three
flyovers being built by the MSRDC at Manpada, Waghbil and Patlipada junctions
is to ease the heavy vehicular traffic driving in and out of Thane. The work on
the flyovers began one year back and was scheduled to be completed by January
2011. However, the project has been extremely delayed and till date just about
10- 20 per cent of the work has been completed.
The Ghodbunder Road is one of the major roads leading out of Thane city
and that connects the Eastern Express Highway which becomes National Highway 3
at Thane and the Western Express Highway becomes the National Highway 8 leading
to Gujarat and also the growth of Thane city due to the rapid
industrialization, infrastructure development, real estate and property demand,
increase in population, change in lifestyle and recreations like Suraj Water
Park and other resorts resulted in a phenomenal increase in road traffic on
this link and so the MSRDC took the step of widening the road. In 2002, they completed
building footpaths along with the widening of the Chenna Bridge. The
notification for collecting the toll was issued by the Government of
Maharashtra from 1st December, 2002.
The ‘stop work’ notice further delayed
the work on the flyovers which turned to be a nightmare for the residents going
up and down for jobs as the areas where work had been going on with cement
boulders, cranes and dug up patches was at a standstill leading to a very rough
time for the residents travelling in the heavy traffics.
A working resident in Waghbil said, “the delay
in these constructions of flyovers makes me delayed to my work daily especially
now in the rainy season. However early I leave home for work I end up getting
stuck in the heavy traffic caused because of this incomplete construction.”
Shiv Sena MLA
Pratap Sarnaik took up this issue and questioned the Government making it a
major controversy. He told the Times of India "The realization that these
projects are going on over private forest land dawned on the forest department
only recently. Why did they remain silent for two years?" He added that “if
these flyovers are in violation of the law, then the entire Ghodbunder road is
illegal and if that be the case, then the toll collection centre on this road is
equally bad in law."
A forest official told that there was a doubt
about this entire construction coming under the private forest area for a very
long time but the Supreme Court resolved this issue in 2007 only. And
afterwards the ownership of these plots was given to the forest department. He
added saying “the forest department has been asking the MSRDC and the MMRDA and
the private contractors to obtain the approval for the flyover from the centre
but none of them is bothered to do so. A public infrastructure project can come
up on private forest land only if they are provided with an approval by the
forest department authorities.’
The Times of
India carried an article saying that the District Guardian Minister Ganesh Naik
directed the forest officials to give an approval for the ongoing flyover
construction at Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada. "Lakhs of motorist use
this road every day and stopping work on an ongoing project will needlessly
delay it. With all responsibility I direct the forest officials to issue orders
to resume the work on the flyovers. If there is any administrative or legal
issue I am prepared to face it but a public project cannot be suspended for so
long,' Naik told the officials at the meeting of the District Planning and
Development Committee (DPDC) meeting.
One of the MSRDC
engineer said that the work order for the project has been issued and the field
work is expected to commence soon. The work for constructing the four-lane
1,300 metres flyover has been awarded to Valecha Engineering Ltd. at an
estimated cost of Rs 131Crore. The construction of the three flyovers at
Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada would be wrapped up by the end of 31st
December, 2012.
The flyover
at Manpada will be 434 m long with approaches of 63 m long and 21 m using fish
belly shaped box girder superstructure on architecturally shaped RCC piers over
piles or open foundation.
The flyover
at Patlipada will be 395 m long with approaches of 122 m long and 153 m using
fish belly shaped box girder superstructure on architecturally shaped RCC piers
over piles or open foundation.
The flyover
at Waghbil will be 455 m long with approaches of 195 m long and 110 m using
fish belly shaped box girder superstructure on architecturally shaped RCC piers
over piles or open foundation.
A resident at
Patlipada said “the flyovers will not only ease the traffic at Ghodbunder Road
but will also give a big boost to the real estate prospects of these areas.
Thanks to the improving connectivity.”
A resident of
Hiranandani at Patlipada said “when it comes to the residential projects on
Ghodbunder Road, today the biggest limit for home buyers is the long distance
from Thane station. Whether you are taking a bus to the railway station or
driving up to Mumbai, the Kapurbawadi and Manpada junction are always a
nightmare to negotiate. With the new flyovers the traffic will zoom over the
bottlenecks and the travelling time will hopefully be reduced.”
Initially a
trial bore was dug up to check the nature of the soil and rocks below the road.
Depending on the nature of soil and rock, the depth of the foundation for the
piers to support the flyover will be decided.
The
Kapurbawadi area holding major traffic in Thane will have another flyover
divided into three other routes one joining the flyover at Cinewonder, second
will be to the Bhiwandi Road and the last one will be joining the Mumbai Nasik
Highway intersecting the Ghodbunder Road leading to Surat through the Manpada
flyover.
Besides these
three flyover projects, earlier an announcement was made that other than these
three flyovers at Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada, the MSRDC would also fund for
the construction of another three flyovers at Meenathai Thackeray Chowk,
Hariniwas area and the Telephone Exchange area.
The MSRDC
said that they had even planned to construct 10 foot over bridges on the
Ghodbunder Road stretch as people have problem crossing the busy street at
Ghodbunder Road. The FOBs (Foot Over Bridge) will be constructed at a 6-metre
height while its width will be 3 m. The FOB will hence ensure the safety of the
people. Residents have been demanding for FOBs in the area since quite some
time now and their demands have finally been met. The tenders have also been
invited. The areas where the FOBs will come are The Tatvagyan Vidyapeeth,
R-Mall, Brahmand chowk, Muchala Polytechnic College, Kasarwadavli, Ovala,
Bhaynderpada, Gaimukh Junction, Waghbil and The Fountain Hotel. The Thane
Municipal Corporation (TMC) had also invited tenders for seven FOBs in the
city, including the existing two FOBs, one at Dnyansadhana College and the
other at Louiswadi on the Eastern Express Highway. So in all, the city will
have a total of 17 FOBs. The budget for the FOBs will be around Rs11 Crore. The
FOBs will have escalators and lifts which will be able to cater to around 10-12
people at a time. It will also be very useful for the physically challenged and
senior citizens.
The official at MSRDC said that the project of FOB would
delay a bit because of the delay in the construction of the three flyovers at
Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada. Most of the lanes are shut down due to the
ongoing flyover construction work. And the construction of the FOBs will not coincide with the ongoing flyover
work.
A resident at Waghbil said that it is
very difficult to cross the road, which is actually a highway, and especially
for young children, but now it will be much easier and safer once the FOBs are
constructed.
Finally the construction of the flyovers at Waghbil,
Patlipada and Manpada has resumed and is estimated to be completed on the eve
of New Years after which the construction of FOB’s will start. Seems, the
residents of Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada are going to have a great New Year
ahead. The residents expect nothing but to reduce the congestion on the busy
Thane Ghodbunder Road.