MUMBAI: The Public Works Department (PWD) of Maharashtra government on Friday denotified and handed over highways in the city to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for various infrastructure development projects, paving way for reopening of over 800 bars along the Eastern and Western Express Highways passing through the city.
However, this is a temporary relief for liquor shops and bars as the highways have been handed over for a period of five years, officials have said.
On April 10, MMRDA had written a letter to PWD saying that as they were already carrying out important projects like metro rail, flyovers, elevated road constructions, Mumbai Trans Harbour Link etc on the highways, it would be easier for them to conduct the maintenance work as well. With the added responsibility, the development authority will also have to carry out minor repair works, for which it has to shell out Rs 8-10 crore annually.
Opposition Congress, however, has criticised the decision. "It is very bad that the chief minister himself is helping out the liquor shop and bar owners," MPCC spokesperson Sachin Sawant said in an official media release.
With the decision made on Friday a total of 48.88 km long Eastern and Western Express Highways would be free from restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court on alcohol sale within 500 m of highways from today onwards.
The Eastern Express Highway stretching from CST till Thane is 23.55 km long while the Western Express Highway from Bandra to Dahisar is 25.33 km long. Till 2012, these roads were maintained by the MMRDA, which subsequently handed over the possession and maintenance of these stretches to the PWD.
There are a total of 25,513 liquor vending licencees in the State of which, 15,699 are within 500 m distance of highways and have been impacted.
Nearly 10,000 of these are bars and restaurants and 450 of them are in Mumbai.