"No More Excavations, Dug-up Roads To Be Fixed by May 31," BMC Assures

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced that all ongoing road concretisation work must be completed by May 31. No new roads will be dug up. The decision comes after a review of infrastructure projects by the BMC.

Municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani informed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about the plan. The civic roads department has also been ordered to focus only on roads that have already been excavated.

The residents have expressed frustration over delays in the concretisation drive. While they welcome new roads, they are unhappy with the slow pace of work. Many roads have been left dug up for long periods. This has caused traffic issues, dust pollution, and health concerns.

During the review, a road in Mumbai was found excavated without the ward office’s knowledge. Following the meeting, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Infrastructure) Ulhas Mahale issued a circular. 

Furthermore, the BMC will not allow utilities to excavate roads after May 31. By this date, all ongoing projects by these utilities—such as gas and electricity providers, stormwater and drainage lines, and the installation of optical fibre cables—must be finished.

If a new road is built in small sections after excavation, each section takes time to complete. The BMC wants to avoid this to meet the deadline. Concretisation takes 45 days per section if there are no underground utilities. If utilities are present, it takes 75 days. No roads should be dug up after June 1.

Currently, the electricity cable network in South Mumbai, which was installed more than 80 years ago, is being replaced by the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST). This will take two to three years to finish and is being carried out under the central government's redesigned distribution sector strategy.

Tata Power is also working on a number of cable projects throughout the suburbs and island city. In order to upgrade and repair its gas pipelines around Mumbai, Mahanagar Gas Limited has also begun cutting off gas supplies during certain times.

The road concretisation project began in 2023 under former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to eliminate potholes. So far, 1,000 km of the city’s 2,050 km road network has been concretised.