The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has approved a realignment of the 6.5-km-long twin tunnels for the Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project, increasing the cost by Rs 248 crore, The Indian Express reported. These tunnels, which will connect Goregaon in the western suburbs to Vikhroli in the east, will pass under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).
Originally estimated at Rs 6,301 crore, the revised cost now stands at Rs 6,548 crore due to the realignment. The project is slated for completion by mid-2028.
The initial alignment placed the tunnels beneath tribal hamlets of Habale Pada and Nagarmudi Pada, within SGNP. These areas encompass farmlands crucial to the livelihood of local tribal communities. Concerns raised by the communities during multiple discussions with civic authorities led to the decision to realign the tunnels.
The alignment has been shifted 600 meters eastward, ensuring the tunnels will now pass beneath the forest and hillocks, avoiding any impact on the farmlands.
Construction on the project is already underway, with tunnel boring scheduled to begin early next year. “In the first quarter of 2025, the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are set to arrive from China. The new alignments pass below Film City and this will not affect the agrarian land. The new alignment also requires some additional boring work on both sides of a few hundred metres that has led to escalation in cost,” a senior civic official said.
Civic authorities have earmarked a land parcel within Film City for the TBM shaft, which is currently being excavated. Once the TBM arrives, it will be assembled on-site and lowered into the shaft to commence boring. Officials stated that boring for the first tunnel will start from the western suburbs, with the TBM emerging at the eastern end. The second tunnel’s boring will then begin from the eastern suburbs.