The civic body has, so far, incurred losses more than Rs 4,500 crore as its income has severely affected due to the lockdown. (File)
A DIP in its revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic has hit the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) repairing and reconstruction work on bridges across the city.
Before the onset of monsoon, the civic body had finalised the repair and reconstruction of 56 bridges, work for which was slated to commence from October. It had awarded the contracts before May 31. Following a slump in its finances, the civic body, however, has taken up work on 28 bridges, officials from the civic body’s Bridge department said.
Data from the department shows that while in the island city 17 works were slated to start, 18 were to begin in the western suburbs and 21 in the eastern suburbs from October. However, now the civic body will take up nine works in the island city, one in the western suburbs and 18 in eastern suburbs.
“Work will be taken according to priority. The financial situation (of the civic body) has not improved yet. We will try to finish work on 28 bridges first and then the remaining will be taken up depending on the situation,†said a senior official from the Bridges department.
Some of these repair and reconstruction works will be undertaken on Charni Road, Lalbaug Flyover, Hancock Bridge, Lokmanya Tilak Road flyover in Dadar, and Sion-Bandra Link Road. Work on the Himalaya Bridge near CSMT will start soon with the civic body in the process of inviting tenders, officials said.
Following a dip in revenue, the BMC had earlier decided not to take up further road repair work but focus on finishing the ongoing and most important ones.
The civic body has, so far, incurred losses more than Rs 4,500 crore as its income has severely affected due to the lockdown. It has already cut Rs 400 crore from the Rs 2,699 crore allocation in the budget year 2020-21 on repair, reconstruction and maintenance of bridges. Overall, the civic body has cut Rs 2,500 crore from its capital expenditure. Apart from this, the administration has also directed a 20 per cent cut in the establishment costs.
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