BMC plans to concretise Aarey main road

The main road inside Aarey Milk Colony on Tuesday. Pics/Anurag Ahire

The main road inside the Aarey Milk Colony that often becomes nearly impassable due to potholes in monsoon will turn into a concrete thoroughfare. The busy road starts from Western Express Highway and runs through the lush green patch till Morarji Nagar, Powai. The 7.2-km stretch of the road within Aarey will be concretised over three years, while the project will cost Rs 51.6 crore, said officials. The road is used by hundreds of vehicles daily as a traffic shortcut between the city's eastern and western sides. It is maintained by the BMC.

Earlier, there was speculation that the BMC would widen the road on the pretext of concretisation and the work would harm the green zone. But the BMC has clarified that there is no proposal to widen the existing road. During concretisation, civic authorities said, care will be taken to protect existing trees and the adjoining Aarey forestry. BMC officials will take measures to safeguard the forest as per the direction of the chief conservator of forest.

The tender for the work on the Aarey main road was invited in August, but the BMC received bids that were 29 per cent lower than the minimum cost. Tenders were reinvited in November. While the lowest bid was less than 18 per cent of the minimum cost, the BMC's standing committee cleared it and handed the contract to M/s G L Construction Pri. Ltd. The cost also includes adjustment of underground utility cables.

The work is supposed to be complete in 24 months excluding monsoon months. The defect liability period is 10 years and 20 per cent of the contract amount will be released in equal instalments over ten years, after completion of the work.

3 years
Approx time needed to complete the work

Rs 51.6 cr
Cost of the project