Mumbai: 2nd cost escalation of Marwa bridge cleared without due process

The BMC decided to reconstruct the bridge after a part of it collapsed during repair on June 11, 2021. Pic/Sameer Markande

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to approve an increase in the cost for work of the Marwa bridge at Sakinaka, despite the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) pulling up the civic body for awarding work without a tender. The Rs 3.37 crore cost rise proposal for the competition of work was recently approved by the BMC. The civic body also approved an extension timeline for the work, from December 2023 to May 2024. The cost of construction of the Marwa road bridge is now Rs 29.44 crore.

Explaining the reason for the cost escalation, the civic roads department stated in the proposal that during excavation it was found that the condition of the underground Tansa pipeline near the Marwa bridge is inconsistent. Therefore, the length of the bridge was increased by 3.10 metres. Also, along the approach road on the western side of the bridge, there is a large network of water department water lines and high-pressure electric lines of Tata and Adani at the said planned site. Therefore, open excavation is not possible at the site and a pile foundation has been proposed for the foundation of the retaining wall.

According to the proposal, BMC had started considering an extension of the bridge in October 2018 and during the repair on June 11, 2021, part of the bridge wall collapsed and the bridge witnessed cracks. After the incident, the BMC decided to reconstruct the bridge. It was also decided that the work would be carried out with the same contractor without tender. The initial cost of extension of the bridge was around Rs 14.22 crore. When BMC decided to use the same contractor to reconstruct the bridge the amount to be paid was revised to Rs 26.07 crore.

Awarding of contracts without the tendering process by the BMC was taken up by CAG in 2022. mid-day reported on the issue in its December 24, 2022, edition. According to the BMC proposal, the contract was awarded without a tender as the bridge is a very crucial connector. It connects Saki Vihar Road and Marol Morashi Road. It is a very important link to reach SevenHills Hospital. Now as the bridge is closed to traffic, motorists need to travel around 4-5 km more to reach SevenHills from Saki Vihar Road.

Civic activist Anil Galgali said this project is another example of BMC's zero planning. "Without planning and study, the project is executed. Then the cost and time increase. This is happening with all the projects in the last few years," he said. Galgali, a resident of Kurla who uses this road regularly, added that due to delays in this work, people, mainly motorists, are suffering. "They need to use travel a 3-4 km long distance which before was a few meters between Saki Vihar Road to Krushnarao Marwa Road," he said. "This is the shortest route from Andheri East to Powai. However, now one has to travel via Andheri Ghatkopar Junction Road through traffic congestion," activist Godfrey Pimenta, who is a resident of Kalina, said, adding that the BMC always gives such reasons for project cost escalation.

Rs 29.44 cr
Revised cost of reconstructing the bridge