Mumbai could soon get its first major underground pedestrian link, with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) proposing a 3-km, Rs 702.44-crore walkway connecting the Nehru Science Centre Metro station to the Coastal Road promenade at Haji Ali, with a section passing beneath the Mahalaxmi Racecourse.

The project, proposed as a pilot under the civic body’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) initiative, will also include underground parking and indoor recreational spaces. The proposal has been sent to the BMC Standing Committee for approval.

The BMC has proposed that the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL), a joint venture between the Centre and Maharashtra government, execute the project directly. The civic body has sought a relaxation of tendering rules for the arrangement instead of using its conventional public tender process.

According to the proposal, the pedestrian link will begin underground at the Nehru Science Centre Metro station and run westwards towards the Coastal Road promenade at Haji Ali. A section will pass beneath the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, where an underground lobby with escalators and lifts will provide access to the public space planned on the Racecourse land.

he BMC has taken over 120 of the Racecourse’s 211 acres for public use

The BMC has taken over 120 of the Racecourse’s 211 acres for public use and plans to develop the land as a Central Park with a botanical garden, topiary garden and city forest. An indoor sports arena and convention hall have also been proposed below the Racecourse.

The underground link is intended to connect these public spaces with the Metro and Coastal Road while allowing pedestrians to avoid busy roads above ground. “The underpass will form a semi-circular walkway around the periphery of the racecourse and, in the future, another underpass will be constructed to connect with the Acharya Atre Chowk Metro station,” a civic official said.

“Eventually, both these underpasses will merge underneath the Mahalaxmi Racecourse,” the official added.

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The decision to take up the project was finalised at a July 28 meeting attended by officials from the BMC, MMRCL and the state Urban Development Department, according to the civic proposal.

The BMC has proposed releasing the Rs 702.44 crore in instalments linked to the progress of the project. Twenty-five per cent would be released after the BMC and MMRCL sign a memorandum of understanding, while subsequent instalments would be linked to securing permissions and reaching specified stages of construction.

The funding plan has drawn criticism from the Congress. In a letter to Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, senior Congress leader and former corporator Ashraf Azmi questioned the decision to commit civic funds to the project when the BMC is already undertaking major infrastructure works. “BMC already owes Rs 8,000 crore in payments to various contractors executing infrastructure projects. For the next two financial years, the BMC will have to pay Rs 28,000 crore annually to contractors executing these projects,” Azmi said, seeking details of the TOD premium recovery timeline, the consequences of any shortfall and responsibility for cost escalation.