The Veer Savarkar flyover, also known as the MTNL flyover in Goregaon, was constructed to connect the Western Express Highway with Link Road, easing east–west traffic congestion. Now, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) says it obstructs the alignment of the upcoming Mumbai Coastal Road Phase 2, particularly the 4.5km elevated connector from Mindspace to Dindoshi, leaving no choice but to pull it down.
According to civic engineers, the existing structure reduces sliproad space and poses challenges for emergency access. After an eightmonth review of alternate alignments, the BMC concluded that demolition was the only viable option. A doubledecker replacement is now on the drawing board, with the upper deck carrying coastal road traffic and the lower deck replicating the flyover’s original east–west link.
Public Money Down the Drain
The move has triggered sharp criticism from activists, local representatives, and urban planners. Former corporators have accused the BMC of either overlooking longterm planning or succumbing to vested interests when the flyover was approved.
Many point out that the Coastal Road project has been in the works for years and that any competent planning process should have identified conflicts between the two structures before construction began in 2015. Instead, the city now faces the cost of dismantling a nearly new flyover and building an alternative, effectively paying twice for the same connectivity.
The Bigger Picture: Coastal Road Phase 2
The Versova–Dahisar stretch of the Mumbai Coastal Road is a massive infrastructure project featuring elevated corridors, tunnels, and cablestayed bridges, aimed at reducing travel times and decongesting key arteries. The Mindspace–Dindoshi elevated link is a critical part of this network, designed to improve east–west access to the Western Express Highway.
BMC officials argue that retaining the current flyover would compromise safety, reduce traffic flow efficiency, and hinder integration with the new road network. Piling work for parts of the connector has already begun, even though final approval for demolition is still pending.
Accountability Questions
Urban policy experts say this case underscores the need for integrated infrastructure planning. Large projects in Mumbai must be planned in coordination with ongoing and future works to prevent costly overlaps.
The question now is who will be held responsible for the oversight. Will it be the engineers who designed the flyover, the civic planners who approved it, or the political leadership that pushed it forward? Citizen groups are calling for an independent audit of the project’s timeline and decision-making chain to determine whether this was simply a case of negligence or something more serious.
The impending demolition of the Veer Savarkar flyover is not just about a wasted Rs 27 crore; it’s a warning signal. Infrastructure in a megacity demands precise foresight, meticulous coordination, and accountability when things go wrong.
As legal challenges loom and public anger grows, this episode may force Mumbai’s civic authorities to rethink how projects are planned and approved. Until then, one uncomfortable truth remains: a major piece of infrastructure, built with taxpayer money less than a decade ago, is about to be reduced to rubble.
