MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth over Rs 38,000 crore in various sectors in Mumbai, giving a major push to infrastructure, urban travel and healthcare ahead of the civic polls, where the BJP will contest. And the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena would like to showcase these initiatives to take on political rivals. This was Modi’s first visit to Mumbai after Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took charge after toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in late June last year. At the inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony of development projects at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), both Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hit out at the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction and the MVA government. Municipal elections in Mumbai and some other important cities including Pune, Thane and Nagpur are likely to be held later this year.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction are trying to wrest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from the Thackeray-led camp. At a function held at the MMRDA grounds in BKC, Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for projects worth over Rs 38,000 crore aimed at developing infrastructure, easing urban travel and strengthening healthcare in the financial capital.
He laid the foundation stone for seven sewage treatment plants, a road paving project and the redevelopment of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. PM inaugurated Mumbai Metro Rail Lines 2A and 7 built at a cost of around Rs 12,600 crore. These include the 35-km elevated corridor stretching from Andheri to Dahisar in suburban Mumbai.
Mumbai, Maharashtra | Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated two lines of the Mumbai Metro.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and others were present on this occasion. pic.twitter.com/7KKrTDzORN– ANI (@ANI) January 19, 2023
Modi also inaugurated 20 ‘Apla Dawakhana’ (health clinics), named after Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.
The 18.6 km long Mumbai Metro Rail Line 2A connects suburban Dahisar (East) with the 16.5 km long DN Nagar (Yellow Line) while Metro Line 7 connects Andheri (East) to Dahisar (East). The foundation stone of these lines was laid by PM Modi in 2015.
The Prime Minister also launched the Mumbai 1 mobile app and the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC). The app, which can be shown at the entrances of metro stations, will help ease travel. It supports digital payments for purchasing tickets through UPI. An official release said that the mobility card would be initially used in the metro corridor and later it could be extended to other modes of mass public transport including suburban trains and buses.
#watch , Prime Minister Narendra Modi availed the Mumbai Metro and interacted with the youth onboard. Earlier this evening, he inaugurated two lines of the Mumbai Metro.
(Video Source: DD News) pic.twitter.com/6IXCOeivXx
– ANI (@ANI) January 19, 2023
Commuters will not need to carry multiple cards or cash, it said, adding the NCMC will enable instant, contactless digital transactions, making the process easier with a seamless experience. The seven sewage treatment plants will be built at a cost of around Rs 17,200 crore and will come up in suburban Malad, Bhandup, Versova, Ghatkopar, Bandra, Dharavi and Worli. Their combined capacity would be around 2,460 MLD, the release said.
In an effort to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure in Mumbai, the Prime Minister inaugurated 20 Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Dawakhana clinics. The initiative provides essential medical services like health check-ups, medicines, tests and diagnostics to the people free of cost.
The PM laid the foundation stone for three new hospitals – 360-bed multi-specialty municipal hospital at Bhandup, 306-bed facility at Goregaon (West) and 152-bed maternity home at Oshiwara. This will benefit lakhs of residents of the city and provide them with top class medical facilities, the release said.
The PM launched a Rs 6,100 crore road paving project for about 400 km of roads in the megapolis. He also laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in South Mumbai.
The project aims to decongest the southern heritage node of the terminus, enhance amenities, better multi-modal integration and preserve and restore the world-renowned iconic structure to its past glory.
The redevelopment will cost over Rs 1,800 crore. The Prime Minister also launched the transfer of loans sanctioned to over one lakh beneficiaries under the PM SVANidhi scheme.