After a failed attempt, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has refloated bids to beautify and improve the 5.8-km-long walkway between Matheran and Dasturi.
After a failed attempt, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has refloated bids to beautify and improve the 5.8-km-long walkway between Matheran and Dasturi.
Earlier, bids were called off due to bidders quoting an amount 46 per cent lower than the base price quoted by the authority. The authority assumed the work would be substandard due to this. “There were bidders interested for the work but the quotation by us was Rs 51.55 crore and bidders had quoted 46 to 20 per cent less than what we had said. In this scenario we felt that work would not be done fully or the it would be substandard,” a MMRDA official, said.
This time, the MMRDA, after calculating the project cost, bought it down by 10 per cent from Rs 51.55 crore to Rs 46.42 crore.
The beautification of the Matheran walkway includes installing clay paver blocks and new signage in the eco-sensitive hill station.
Once the work order is awarded, it will take two years to complete the project at this popular weekend destination.
The Matheran Monitoring Committee recommended the beautification of the pathway and laying of paver blocks, while keeping in mind environment issues during implementation of the project. Furthermore, the walkway, which will be constructed from clay, will connect people travelling from Dasturi directly to the market area of Matheran.
The distance between Dasturi and Matheran is 50 km. One can use the Karjat-Khopoli Road to reach both sides and one can also use the Mumbai-Pune expressway to reach both ends of Matheran and Dasturi. However, using the expressway increases the distance from 50 km to 83 km, as it passes through Ajivali, Shedung in Raigad district.
