Mumbai: Nine years after it was first initiated in 2016 and announced in 2014, the Airoli-Kalwa elevated railway corridor—a critical project that could have eased the daily agony of lakhs of suburban commuters—remains stuck over rehabilitation and political deadlock.
Despite one phase of construction being completed, the second and most vital stretch of the project is at a standstill due to incomplete resettlement and rehabilitation (R\&R) of affected households—an issue overseen by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which has been dragging its feet for years.
The project, meant to provide a direct connection between Airoli and Kalwa and significantly decongest the overcrowded Thane station, is being executed by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC). But even as MRVC finishes its part in phases, MMRDA yet to relocate just 786 project-affected people from Bhola Nagar and Shivaji Nagar, has left the second phase hanging.
Sources inside the project allege that the real reason for the delay goes beyond paperwork—it’s politics. “The land required for the rail line falls under one political constituency, while the alternate resettlement housing is in an area, that belongs to a different constituency,” a source revealed. “Shifting families would also mean shifting vote banks. That’s why there’s no progress.”
This blatant politicisation of public infrastructure has left commuters in limbo. The elevated corridor would have allowed passengers from Badlapur, Kasara, and Kalyan direct access to Navi Mumbai’s IT and corporate hubs like Mahape, Vashi, and Panvel, bypassing Thane—a station that already handles over 6.5 lakh passengers daily across 1,000 train services.
The need for this corridor is not theoretical—it is desperately urgent. In a recent tragedy at Mumbra station, four people lost their lives and several others were injured after falling from an overcrowded local train during peak hours. Such incidents are becoming alarmingly routine, as passengers are forced to risk their lives travelling on footboards and hanging from doors, due to overcrowded and delayed infrastructure upgrades.
Even though the rail line falls in a region politically dominated by heavyweight leaders like Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, his son Dr. Shrikant Shinde, Loksabha MP from Kalyan Constituency, Current Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, who is also from Thane and opposition party legislator Jitendra Awhad, former Minister from National Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar, the lack of tangible progress raises serious questions. The people of Thane and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region continue to pay the price for political inaction, with their time, safety, and in worst cases, their lives.
According to the MRVC, the project could be completed within just three years—if the R&R is done.
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