There finally seems to be some hope for Mumbai’s pothole-ridden Silicon Valley at MIDC, Andheri East with a sum of Rs. 46.5 Crore being sanctioned to give the area a much-needed infrastructual boost.

The BMC the body in charge of road maintenance, was taken to the cleaners. For years, the BMC has maintained that the roads do not come under its purview but were the MIIDC’s baby. But, it was pointed out, if this was the case, how was it that the BMC had not only given permission to various utilities— MTNL, BSES and Tata Electric—to dig the roads, but also collected hefty fees from them?

It was agreed that the BMC would repair and maintain the roads The BMC’s estimate for repairing the roads and for drainage is Rs 46.5 crore. Two-thirds of the cost is to be borne by the MIDC and one-third by the BMC Says MIDC CEO Jaywant Kawale, "Work should commence by November 1. Most of the execution will be by the BMC. We were keen on infrastructional upgradation here because the IT industry was suffering. MIDC’s success depends largely on the infrastructural facilities."

When questioned about why such a high estimate had been made for a seven-km stretch, the BMC said that the money needed to lay a drainage system. It was brought to its attention that the MIDC area already had drainage system in place w only had to be connected to individual buildings The BMC replied that since this drainage had never been used, it was probably unusable by now.

The deputy speaker said within the time-frame of one-a-half years all repairs should completed. A suggestion was that the various utilities be contacted and asked what kind of trenches they needed underground, so that some roads could be marked ‘No Digging Zones’. It was also decided that after every three months, there would be a review of the work in progress.

Industrialists in the MIDC aid greeted the news with enthusiasm. Chairman of the Electronics Software Export Promotion Council L.S. Kanodia, who had earlier dashed off a letter to the chief Minister on this issue, said, "We are very happy and hope for the best. The entire software business is oriented to overseas buyers who are shocked at the state of affairs".

Suresh Bansal, chairman, Melstar Information Technologies said, "The conditions are shameful. Every client we bring in expresses disgust. Thank goodness something is finally being done."

Courtesy: The Times of India.