The state government on March 24, 2025 said that the concreting of all the roads will be completed by May 31. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde gave this assurance at a meeting of more than 20 Mumbai MLAs from various parties called by Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar.
The MLAs complained about bad work, contractors who didn't follow the rules, a very slow pace of work, lack of transparency, agencies that didn't work together, work being subcontracted, and other problems. In a meeting announced by Narvekar last week, opposition MLAs alleged corruption in the concreting work and demanded an investigation into the contracts by the Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is also the Urban Development Minister, was present in this meeting. This was the first time that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde came face to face in a meeting. Shinde had launched a city-wide concreting campaign to make Mumbai pothole-free in January 2023. Meanwhile, allegations of corruption in contracts awarded by Thackeray are being continuously made.
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"Our party leader Aaditya Thackeray has demanded an EOW inquiry. The contracts were awarded at a rate much higher than their actual cost," claimed Bandra East MLA Varun Sardesai. Kandivali East MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar raised the issue of lack of coordination between various systems and departments of the Municipal Corporation.
Eknath Shinde was present for just 10 minutes at the very end of the meeting. "He came only for the last ten minutes. And he assured the MLAs that the work will be completed by May 31. "The BJP and Shiv Sena MLAs thanked Shinde for his campaign to make the city pothole-free in the next three years and supported him," said a BJP MLA.
Significantly, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been without elected representatives for almost three years, as elections to civic and local bodies have not been held yet. In the absence of elected corporators, the BMC is administered by the Municipal Commissioner, who reports to the Urban Development Department.
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Ashish Shelar, Guardian Minister of Mumbai Suburban District, said, “Shinde has assured that all projects will be completed by May 31st and that no new road works will be undertaken by the Municipal Corporation. Contractors will be asked to put up boards detailing the ongoing works and display audit reports on social media. The Additional Municipal Commissioner will review the road works in all areas by the end of April.”
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had told the state assembly earlier this month that the government's goal of making Mumbai pothole-free would be achieved by 2027. The concreting work of the first phase is 27% complete, while that of the second phase is over 50%.
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