MUMBAI URBAN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT
AND
MUMBAI URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT
Recognizing the increasing pressures on the already overburdened transport infrastructure in
Mumbai and the emerging need for the creation of a well-serviced and efficient Global City, the
State has aggressively taken up the implementation of Mumbai Urban Transportation Project
(MUTP) and the Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP). The increasing foreign direct
investment within the city, the decentralization of work centers, the increasing commuter and
vehicular traffic, the aggressive promotion of private cars luring the aspirations of the emerging
middle class – all these have contributed to providing the context for the implementation of the
Development Plan proposals that form a part of this project.
The MUTP and MUIP consist of four components:
1. The Road Component, which includes the development of new road links and strengthening
of existing ones and development of missing road links towards strengthening of the north–
south and east–west movement corridors in the city.
2. The Rail Component, which includes the augmentation of the suburban railway network
through the laying of additional railway tracks.
3. The Rehabilitation Component, which includes the rehabilitation of Project Affected
Persons - housing and commerce - within the formal and informal sector.
4. Capacity Augmentation of Bombay Electric Suburban Transport (BEST), which includes
the acquiring of additional buses for public transport.
The project has been financed through the State Government, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional
Development Authority and a loan taken from the World Bank. The Mumbai Metropolitan
Regional Development Authority has played the role of the nodal coordination agency for the
implementation of the project, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and
Railways have been involved in the execution of the road and rail components respectively,
whereas the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Center has assisted organizing the
Project Affected Persons for the implementation of the rehabilitation component. A summary of
the projects within the MUTP and the MUIP, the estimated expenditure of each component and
the share of financial burden over the funding agencies, is provided in the adjoining table.
The disproportionate share of financial investments between public and private transport
observed in the MUTP and the MUIP has highlighted the need for examining the demand
creation of private transport and managing this demand as against facilitating the supply side.
The infrastructural up-gradation has led to the boosting of real estate prices in several areas of
the city leading to the creation of inequitable Development Rights amongst various stakeholders
and a severe restructuring of the city geography. The process of implementation of this mega
projects, the role played by the various agencies involved during implementation, the vociferous
objections by the Project Affected Persons which have emerged in the context of their physical
and social marginalization have become issues of concern across the city.
Prepared By Rohit Mujumdar
July 11, 2006