THE ALIBAUG-VIRAR CORRIDOR: SLOW AND NOT-SO-STEADY? : The Times of India

The Alibaug-Virar Multi Modal Corridor is slated to change the infrastructural landscape of the MMR. However, it can only be achieved if its development takes place at a more rapid pace

The Alibaug-Virar Corridor is probably a classic case study as to how a grand vision to transform an urban infrastructure can be jeopardised with a slow pace of execution.Forget execution! The planning itself seems to stretch the possible execution timelines for the project. Added to that some changes mid-way due to logistical reasons and land acquisitions hurdles, threaten to prolong the project even further.

This 126 km long, Virar-Al ibaug Multi Modal Corridor will connect NH-8, Bhiwandi bypass, NH-3, NH-4 and NH-4B, Mumbai-Pune Expressway, NH-17, etc. Out of this 126 km corridor, the 79 km long Virar (Navghar) to Chirner (JNPT) corridor has been declared financially feasible and has been approved by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) in March, 2012.

The Government of Maharashtra, with financial assistance from the World Bank and through the MMRDA, under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project, has prepared the Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, in the year 2008 known as TRANSFORM (Transportation study for the region of Mumbai). The premier objective of this study was to identify the travel modes and patterns of the residents in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and recommend a long-term Comprehensive Transportation Strategy for MMR upto 2031. The final report was submitted in July, 2008.One of the major recommendations of TRANSFORM is the development of a Multi Modal Corridor in the MMR to take care of the varied travel demands of the region for the horizon period upto 2031. One such corridor is planned from Virar to Alibaug. Ms. Louis Berger Group Inc., was appointed for the preparation of Techno-Economic and Financial Viability Study, which began in August, 2010. However, problems in acquiring the land from the locals in Navi Mumbai have forced the MMRDA to alter the Virar-Alibaug Multimodal Corridor (VAMC) plan. The Multi Modal Corridor will be a crucial step towards the development, thus strengthening and creating job opportunities in seven growth centres in the MMR such as Virar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Dombivali, Panvel, Taloja and Uran.

The corridor will also be useful for the development of the Navi Mumbai International Air port, the JNPT Port, the MTHL and the Dedicated Freight Corridor. This corridor will carry all the traffic from JNPT towards Navi Mumbai and Thane, outside the city and will help reduce traffic congestion within the city.The travel time between Virar to Alibaug required today will also be reduced by 50 per cent.

The corridor will join the proposed Vadodara -JNPT Expressway near Matheran and will continue as a single highway for 22 kms before ending at JNPT. At first, both the highways were planned to run parallel for 20 kms. The VAMC would cut through the middle of the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA), which is being developed by City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO).

However, authorities later said that they cannot construct the VAMC through NAINA, not only because of some technical issues but also the locals were opposed to it. Even as the state government is pushing for the Virar Alibaug Multi-modal Corridor that will be instrumental in creating new growth centres outside Mumbai, a key public transport element of the metro that will make the project genuinely `multi-modal' has been put on the backburner for now, owing to ridership concerns. Like with the proposed Sewri-Nhava Sheva Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, the MMRDA is now concentrating on building just the road portion of the multi-modal corridor, keeping the development of a Metro line along the route for a later date. Brotin Banerjee, MD and CEO of Tata Housing points out that the multi-modal corridor will enable expansion of Mumbai, as it aims to connect all the small satellites around the city. It will not only reduce the travel time but also open doors to trade developments as it passes through Navi Mumbai, Uran, Alibaug, Thane, Dombivali, Kalyan, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar, Mira Road, Bhayandar, Vasai, Nallasopara and Virar, to name a few.

“The connectivity of the cities will flourish, given that the corridor is deemed to be Mumbai's largest and will have scope for the Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRTS) that will boost the transportation module strongly. As Mumbai gets more saturated with the influx of the working population, townships surrounding the city prove to be the perfect living destinations with commercial developments, upcoming infrastructure and affordable residential projects,“ says Banerjee.

Subhankar Mitra, head ­ strategic consulting (west) JLL India, highlights that the Alibaug-Virar Corridor is still in the planning stage. Getting land to implement the project might pose a challenge in certain stretches of the corridor. “However, if it is implemented in the way it is envisaged, there will be a significant boost to the local economy and transportation.“

Abhay Kumar, CMD of Griha Pravesh Buildteck, is even more critical when he says that the time for the Alibaug-Virar Corridor is now or never. It is one of those infrastructure projects that can turn the urban landscape of the region. However, planning and the cost-benefit evaluation are taking time. Also, issues like land acquisition threaten to derail the very purpose for which the corridor has been envisaged. “This is the new growth corridor in the entire MMRDA region,“ says Kumar.

In a nutshell, there is no denying that the development of infrastructure will aid the remote, yet budding townships to be better connected and while the growth centres planned in distant suburbs such as Kalyan, Virar and Navi Mumbai, are intended to de-congest Mumbai, the corridor will provide the fastest connectivity between the two ends of the metro region.