1. MSRDC Wants You To Continue Paying Toll At Sea Link Till 2059
Building cost: Rs 1,634 crore;
Toll recovered since 2009: Rs 575 crore
You may be paying toll on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link till a ripe, old age, or till the year 2059 to be precise, if the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has its way. The collection of toll on the bridge, which was thrown open in 2009, was supposed to be for a period of 30 years, till 2039, but now MSRDC wants to extend this period by another 20 years, till 2059.
MSRDC spent Rs 1,634 crore on building the 5.6-km cable-stayed bridge. The corporation now wants to extend the toll collection period to raise funds for other projects such as the Bandra-Versova Sea Link (BVSL).
The BVSL is expected to cost around Rs 7,500 crore.
MSRDC joint managing director K V Kurundkar said, “We have sought permission from the state government to extend concession period (toll collection period) as MSRDC will need a steady stream of revenue to raise loans from financial institutions for other projects such as BVSL and we are awaiting the state government’s response.”
Around 35,000 vehicles ply on BWSL every day. Currently, the oneway toll for a car is Rs 60, while a return trip costs Rs 90.
From 2009, when it was thrown open, till now, MSRDC has managed to collect around Rs 575 crore as toll. The MSRDC has now floated a tender for toll collection and maintenance for the next three years. The chosen company will have to shell out Rs 380 crore upfront to bag the contract. A back-of-the-envelope calculation reveals that even if MSRDC gets Rs 380 crore for every three-year contract, then by 2039, it would have earned approximately Rs 2,800 crore. This is a very conservative estimate as the toll and the contract amount are expected to go up every few years.
Explaining the mathematics behind the toll collection vis-à-vis the cost of the project, a senior official from MSRDC said, “The amount of Rs 1,634 crore which we have spent is the upfront amount. Over this, we have to pay interest to banks as we have raised loans from them. So, the real cost of the project is Rs 1,634 crore plus interest. So, our profit can be calculated only after we recoup the original cost plus interest.”
Source: Mumbai Mirror
2. Here's How Residents Are Fighting Filth With Football At Mahim Beach
Two years ago, it was a pain to put your foot on Mahim Beach amid its layers of litter, let alone taking strolls. So, imagine the surprise, and a sense of accomplishment, of the area's residents that the first-ever football tournament is going to be held there this Sunday.
And it definitely hasn't been smooth sailing, as this has become possible thanks to the hard work a group of residents put in to bring the sandy stretch to its current state of cleanliness.
A different ball game
These members of the area's Advanced Local Management (ALM) battled plastic, garbage and drug addicts to spruce up the beach, making it worthy to host the tournament, which will be played in the futsal fashion — two sides with five players each — among local Mahim teams on Sunday morning; if the tide changes course, the timing will be shifted to early evening.
Source: Mid-day
3. BMC’s Nightmare: 500 Creaky Buildings
Nearly 500 buildings that are beyond repairs are proving to be a major worry for the BMC ahead of the monsoon. Despite declaring them unfit for habitation, the civic body is struggling to get them vacated owing to court cases, protests and other technical issues.
Rickety buildings pose great danger not only to those living in them, but also to structures in the vicinity, particularly during rains.
According to a report by the BMC’s anti-encroachment department, Mumbai had 816 ‘extremely dilapidated’ buildings as on April 27, 2017, with Kurla topping the list at 113, followed by Ghatkopar (80) and Wadala/Matunga (77).
So far, the corporation has been able to demolish 196 structures and vacate 134. This leaves 486 crumbling buildings escaping the BMC hammers before the rains. Despite the potential risks, officials say, residents in many cases refuse to move out.
“In some cases, residents have managed to get a stay from the court, while in a few cases the BMC’s technical advisory committee is yet to take a call,” said a senior civic official. The technical committee proceedings involves hearing both parties over multiple sessions and is a timeconsuming process like the judiciary, he said.
The civic body puts buildings that have fallen into disrepair in three categories – C1, C2 and C3. Structures that can be repaired to stand for next few years are marked as C3; those in need of extensive structural help are put in C2 category.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
4. Major Blaze At Versova; No Casualties Reported
A major blazed occurred on Thursday morning at a bungalow in the Kino Cottage area in Versova. Officials from the Mumbai Fire Brigade have been deployed at the site of the blaze. No injuries have been reported.
Locals Sushil and Nina Saini, who live next to Kino Cottage, first spotted smoke emanating from the bungalow. According to eyewitnesses, within minutes, the entire bungalow was engulfed in the fire.
Over six fire brigades immediately rushed to the spot, but were unable to enter the premises, as the entrance gate was narrow. At the time of going to press, the flames had been brought under control. There was no information on the number of human causalities. Sources said that a short circuit inside the premises had led to the fire.
Source: Mid-day
5. CM Pulls Up BMC For Desilting Work Delay
After repeated complaints by the BJP on the slow progress of desilting of nullahs in the city, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the BMC to pull up its socks and take a stricter approach against contractors who are lagging behind. Fadnavis has also asked the BMC to make information on the progress of work public, by putting it up on their website and social media platforms.
Fadnavis has also asked the BMC to monitor the work daily and to penalize erring contractors.
Earlier this week, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray reviewed the ongoing work in five major drains across the city. He inspected the Oshiwara River, Mithi River in Mahim and Kurla, Vakola River and Irla Nullah.
The BJP and Shiv Sena who have been at loggerheads since the civic elections, on Thursday, took up the issue with Fadnavis in a meeting that was also attended by civic chief Ajoy Mehta.
Speaking to the press, city BJP chief Asish Shelar said, “We are highly unsatisfied with the nullah cleaning. The CM has asked Municipal Commissioner to quantify how much silt has been removed. We have also demanded an analysis of the cleaning from experts like NEERI and IIT”.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
6. Mumbai’s Coastal Road Project Gets ‘Green’ Light
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announced in a tweet that the proposed Mumbai coastal road project has received the final approval from the central government.
He said, “This coastal road will ease the congestion on Western Expressway and give a faster and smoother ride to Mumbaikars. The UPA government at centre and the Congress-NCP government in state were just talking about it for 15years but in 2years we got all approvals to build the road.”
Fadnavis thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and minister for environment and forests Anil Dave for the final approval.
The Rs 12,000-crore project promises to ease the travel woes of Mmumbaikars along the 35.6-km stretch between Nariman Point in south Mumbai and Kandivali in the western suburbs.
The four-lane project will have a total of 10 interchanges along the way and is likely to take four years to complete, officials said.
Source: PTI
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