Modi knows that the BMC elections are critical for his party which has never won a majority in the city's 227 wards.
Weeks away from the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation elections, Prime Minister Narendra D Modi is in Mumbai today, January 19.
On his one day visit, Modi will either perform the bhoomi puja for projects or flag off new services on the Mumbai Metro.
The total worth of these projects is estimated at around Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion).
Modi knows the BMC elections are very crucial for his Bharatiya Janata Party which has never won a majority in the city's 227 wards.
The BJP earlier fought BMC elections as a junior partner of the Shiv Sena, under the auspices of the late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and later his son Uddhav Thackeray.
In 2017, the BJP stepped out of the alliance, but won 82 seats, two short of the Sena.
The BJP then decided to support the Sena in the BMC and put its dreams of ruling India's richest municipal corporation -- which has a budget of Rs 45,949.21 crore (Rs 459.49 billion) for 2022-2023 -- on hold.
After Eknath Shinde broke away from Uddhav Thackeray's Sena last June to form what has come to be known as the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, the BJP will take on Uddhav's Sena in the 2023 BMC elections.
Check out the projects Modi will initiate in Mumbai this afternoon and its importance for Mumbaikars:
1. Mumbai Metro
Modi will flag off two lines on the Mumbai Metro -- Line 2A and Line 7.
These new Metro lines are expected to benefit 800,000 commuters daily.
Line 2A, which is around 18.6 km long, will connect Dahisar East with D N Nagar in Andheri West, both in suburban north west Mumbai.
It will help ease traffic congestion on one of the busiest routes (the New Link Road) in Mumbai.
Line 7 will connect Dahisar East to Andheri East. The distance will be 16.5 km along an elevated corridor with 13 stations.
These Metro services are predicted to reduce current travel time by anything between 50 and 75 per cent.
2. Road concretisation
Mumbaikars complain that there are fewer craters on the Moon than on Mumbai roads in the monsoon.
Every monsoon, potholed roads can be spotted all over Mumbai, compelling traffic to move at a crawl.
Modi will perform the bhoomi pujan to concretise 400 km of roads in Mumbai, a project worth Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion).
Former Maharashtra finance minister Ajit Pawar has criticised the expenses, saying, 'Rs 17 crore a km for concrete roads in Mumbai is not justified.'
3. Hospitals
Modi will lay the foundation stone for redevelopment of three government hospitals in Bhandup (north east Mumbai), Goregaon and the 152-bed Oshiwara maternity home (both in north west Mumbai).
The prime minister will also inaugurate 20 HinduHridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Dawakhana clinics to provide free or cheap medicines to the poor.
4. Wooing Hawkers
Street vendors occupy the rim of many city roads and are considered a nuisance by some Mumbaikars, but provide cheap food and other essential items at low cost.
Modi will distribute between Rs 10,000 to Rs 100,000 to hawkers under the PM Svanidhi Scheme. Around 100,000 applications filed by Mumbai street vendors have been approved for this scheme.
5. Sewage treatment plants
Seven sewage treatment plants to solve water pollution in the city will be set up at Ghatkopar, Bhandup, Versova, Bandra, Malad, Dharavi and Worli.
The project was greenlight in 2002, but the project never took off due to non clearance from the environment department.
Modi ensured that all clearances were given and the project will take off now.
6. Restoration Plan For CSMT
The city's magnificent Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus is to get a makeover.
Modi will lay the foundation stone for the Rs 1,813 crore (Rs 18,13 billion) project to create an energy efficient green building backed by solar energy and rain water harvesting.
There will be a direct link to connect long distance trains, the city's Harbour line and the Central Railway's suburban railway to the Mumbai Metro's Line 3.
Line 3 -- a fully underground railway service -- is likely to be fully operational by 2024 and will connect SEEPZ in north west Mumbai to Cuffe Parade at the tip of the island city.
