MMRDA mulling realigning Bhiwandi-Kalyan stretch of metro 5 corridor

Town planning authority MMRDA on Friday said it is mulling realignment of a stretch of the Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan metro 5 corridor, following mounting opposition from shopkeepers and residents of Bhiwandi.

Taking cognisance of the protests by the locals of Bhiwandi, Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde had directed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the project implementing agency, to consider changing the route.

"There is an opposition from the locals regarding the alignment of the route between the Kalyan-Bhiwandi stretch. We are now looking at all the possibilities if there can be a realignment or tweaking of the route on that stretch," MMRDA Commissioner R A Rajeev told reporters.

Work on the first phase of the project from Thane to Bhiwandi has begun after a contractor was appointed in September 2019. However, the work from Bhiwandi to Kalyan is yet to start.

When asked if the realignment would result in cost escalation, Rajeev said it would be decided when the project (between Bhiwandi and Kalyan) would be tendered.

The metro corridor has witnessed demands for realigning the line from Durgadi to Adharwadi chowk and from Khadakpada to Birla College.

The proposed 24.9 km-long elevated Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan corridor will have 17 stations and will cost Rs 8,416 crore. It will connect Thane to Bhiwandi and Kalyan in the eastern suburbs.

The stations include Kapurbawdi in Thane (West), Balkum Naka, Kasheli, Kalher, Purna, Anjur Phata, Dhamankar Naka, Bhiwandi, Gopal Nagar, Temghar, Rajnouli Village, Govegaon MIDC, Kongaon, Durgadi Fort, Sahajanand Chowk and Kalyan Railway Station.