BMC passes buck to MMRDA to repair Andheri’s Jog flyover

Weeks after a large slab from a portion of the Andheri flyover on the Western Express Highway fell on a car and injured the driver, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority to repair the structure. As HT reported on June 28, the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute’s audit report on the flyover submitted to the BMC in April said its superstructure is in a precarious condition and needs urgent repairs. BMC sources told HT that municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani decided the civic body won’t repair the flyover because it’s embroiled in an arbitration process involving Hiranandani Constructions Pvt Ltd. However, the BMC is writing to MMRDA as the latter handed over the Western Express Highway from Bandra to Dahisar, including the Jog Flyover, to the BMC in November 2022 for maintenance. So, since 2005, HCPL has been in charge of the bridge’s maintenance.” Apart from the arbitration, HCPL has also requested around 33,000 square metres of space under the flyover for commercial use to set up a shopping complex, which would help it cover the maintenance cost.