Stop all new road digging and ensure concreting work is completed by May 1: Civic chief orders

Road concreting work going on at Wadala. Pic/Atul Kamble

BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani has ordered the road department as well as all ward offices to not undertake any new road digging work that cannot be completed by May-end. Currently, 433 km of roads with 1,173 patches across the city are being concreted. After getting continuous complaints about dug-up roads, last week Gagrani held a meeting with senior officials. At this meeting, Gagrani also directed officials to visit road concreting sites regularly.

On Tuesday, Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Infrastructure sent out an internal order stating, "It has been directed that no new road shall be excavated for concreting and it is strictly instructed that all such road work and allied work shall be completed on or before May 31,2025 to prevent inconvenience to commuters and the public in large". BMC officials claim that they will complete road concreting work by May end.

Anil Galgali, a civic activist, said, "This is a good decision taken by the civic chief. But we are not sure that the current work will be completed by May-end as not all work on these roads is going on smoothly. BMC should at least ensure the roads are safe to use before the monsoon."

Sanjay Gurav, an activist from the South Mumbai area, said road concreting work was not going on at the speed required as traffic movement in the area is heavy. "Not digging up any new roads is a good decision. BMC should follow this next year, too," Gurav added.