Mumbai: 750 Slums to be Demolished for Goregaon-Mulund Link Road Tunnel at SGNP

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is preparing to demolish about 750 slums in the Amar Nagar slum located in Mulund. This is to make way for the planned Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) tunnel.

The slum is located close to the enclosure wall of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). Project-affected persons will be relocated to Bhandup West. As per sources, the Amar Nagar slum is home to approximately 1,707 residents. About 750 of them have received notices from the BMC.

However, many residents are still unclear about the details of their relocation. The BMC has already completed the process of verifying the eligibility of the residents.

In a report by HT, a BMC representative from the bridges division claimed that the project-affected persons (PAPs) will be provided with 300-square-foot apartments. The relocation project is currently in progress and involves the construction of 906 flats in the Runwal Forest area. 

Some locals have expressed concern that the size of the apartments has been reduced. Previously, the residents were promised 375 square foot apartments, but the current plan only offers 300 square feet. 

Despite this, the BMC is moving ahead with the construction and aims to complete the housing project by June 2025. The housing complex will consist of three towers with 23 floors each and seven wings per tower. The building and construction department of the BMC is handling the project, and around 21% of the work has been completed.

The GMLR project is an important project that will improve the connectivity between Mulund and Goregaon. A key feature of the project is a 4.7-kilometre tunnel that will run beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). 

This tunnel will connect the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) in Mulund to the Western Express Highway (WEH) in Goregaon. The tunnel will begin near Goregaon’s Oberoi Mall and end at the Airoli junction on the EEH.

The project will reduce travel time between Mulund and Goregaon from the current 90-minute to just 25 minutes. The BMC has set October 2028 as the deadline for the completion of the twin tunnels.