By IANS
Mumbai : Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh announced Saturday that his government would spend Rs.15 billion ($370.8 million) to improve transport and related infrastructure in towns around Mumbai.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) would spend Rs.15 billion to extend the Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP), said the chief minister.
According to him, the government has already initiated concrete measures to improve facilities in towns like Vasai, Virar, Mira Road, Bhayander, Dombivli, Bhiwandi and Mumbra, all in Thane district, adjacent to Mumbai.
Nearly half of the Rs.15 billion sanctioned would be spent in 2008-09.
The amount will be spent for developing four major roads in the Vasai-Virar belt (Rs.3.80 billion), Mira Road-Bhayander (Rs.4.49 billion) and townships on the outskirts of Mumbai.
Another Rs.6.04 billion will be spent to build roads linking Dombivali-Bhiwandi and Dombivli-Mumbra, four flyovers on the Thane-Ghodbunder Road falling on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway and three flyovers and five major roads in Thane.
An amount of Rs.600 million will be spent on flyovers in the Panvel region, around 100 km northeast of Mumbai.
Seven municipal corporations and 13 municipal councils have been brought under the umbrella of the MMRDA.
Deshmukh said after the implementation of these projects, the high quality of roads and infrastructure connecting Mumbai would be developed with the modern road and infrastructure network in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The MMRDA will also spent Rs.5 billion in 2008-09 to implement the monorail project in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan, Dombivli, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar and Nizampur.
A total of four routes covering 70 km would be constructed between Malabar Hill in south Mumbai and the Bandra-Kurla Complex and between Chembur-Govandi and Andheri-Kanjurmar and Thane-Bhiwandi.
Since nearly 40 percent of people in the MMR live in slums, these satellite towns and cities lack basic health, sanitation, transport and drainage facilities.
According to Deshmukh, the MMRDA has constructed 30,000 public toilets in slums at a cost of Rs.250 million and Rs.2.50 billion will be spent for the purpose in 2008-09.