Mumbai Coastal Road (North) Project: BMC Fast-Tracks VDBLR Land Acquisition, Work To Begin Outside CRZ Zones

While the BMC is in the process of obtaining the necessary permissions and no-objection certificates for the Mumbai Coastal Road Project (North) Versova-Dahisar-Bhayander link road (VDBLR), civic authorities have also directed officials to expedite the acquisition of land affected by the project alignment. The transfer of government land along the project route is also being fast-tracked. In the meantime, work is expected to begin in areas that are outside the Coastal Regulation Zone (Non-CRZ).

The BMC recently received in-principle Stage 1 clearance for its mangrove diversion proposal from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) for the project. The civic body will now seek final approval from the Bombay High Court. Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijeet Bangar visited the site on Wednesday to review the progress of the work. A site inspection was carried out specifically to review the availability of land for setting up casting yards, construction activities, and access roads leading to the work site. Officials from the Bridges Department and project consultants were also present during the visit.

A senior civic official from the bridge department said, “Currently, preparatory work is underway, including soil surveys, environmental assessments, design finalisation, quality control planning, traffic management, and procurement of materials and machinery.” Under Packages C and D of the project, tunnels will be built in both northbound and southbound directions between Mindspace Malad and Charkop Creek. A shaft location has been identified at Charkop to serve as the access point for the tunnel boring machine (TBM) and for aligning the cut-and-cover sections. Additionally, road widening work is planned at Boraspada in line with the proposed route levels, said an official. 

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Under Package E, an elevated connector is proposed between Charkop Creek and Gorai Interchange, while Package F includes another elevated connector from Gorai Interchange to Dahisar Interchange. For Package F, work is planned to begin in the 800-meter-long Non-CRZ section along Devidas Road in Borivali. Bangar instructed that land acquisition for the road leading from Devidas Road to the work site should be expedited.

The 20 km VDLR, costing Rs.16,621 crore, aims to ease traffic congestion in the region. Additionally, a 5.6 km elevated road (45m wide) connecting Dahisar to Bhayandar will be built at a cost of Rs. 3,304 crore to further improve traffic flow. Work is set to begin in August 2025 and be completed by December 2028. The project aims to reduce travel time from 90–120 minutes to 15–20 minutes and cut carbon emissions by 55% through fuel savings.