MBMC Takes Ownership of Ghodbunder Road from Gaimukh to Ahmedabad Highway Junction.

The 4.5km stretch of Ghodbunder Road between Gaimukh and the Ahmedabad highway junction will be transferred from the Public Works Department (PWD) to the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) to expedite its upgrade, announced Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik on Saturday. The state PWD initiated the transfer process last week, confirmed senior officials.

Ghodbunder Road spans a total of 14km, with the section between Majiwada and Gaimukh falling under Thane civic limits, while the stretch beyond up to the Ahmedabad highway junction was within Mira Bhayander civic jurisdiction but managed by the PWD. Previously, the entire highway was managed by the MSRDC for over 20 years before being handed over to the PWD in 2022, around the same time the MMRDA transferred the Western and Eastern Express Highways to the Mumbai and Thane corporations, respectively.

According to new plans, the existing road will be widened to 60m from the current 30m to accommodate the increasing traffic between Gujarat, Borivali, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Pune. Additionally, an elevated metro rail route connecting Gaimukh and Dahisar will pass through the median of the widened highway.

Explaining the need for the transfer, Sarnaik said a proposal was recently sent to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for widening the GB Road between Gaimukh and Fountain Hotel, which required land acquisition. This acquisition could be expedited only by granting Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), typically issued by municipal corporations. Hence, the proposal to transfer the road stretch to the MBMC was approved.

While Sarnaik mentioned that a fresh round of approvals might be needed from the forest department for the widening work, green activists have raised concerns about this new intrusion into the forest zone, especially with the ongoing construction of the Borivali-Thane tunnel.

ET