Mumbai: Four pedestrian bridges over railway tracks in south and central Mumbai, flagged as unsafe by the railways, will undergo structural audits by IIT Bombay, with the BMC set to seek approval from the civic standing committee to pay the IIT-Bombay institute Rs 12 lakh in advance for the exercise.The proposal, which will be placed before the Standing Committee on July 1, pertains to structural audits of four foot overbridges at Masjid Bandar and Matunga-Dharavi. The bridges include two FOBs at Masjid Bandar and two at Matunga-Dharavi.According to the civic administration, the railways have informed the BMC that the bridges are in a dangerous condition and require reconstruction. Before any decision is taken on rebuilding them, the BMC has proposed an independent structural assessment through IIT Bombay. The decision follows directions issued by the additional municipal commissioner (projects) during a meeting with railway authorities on April 21 this year.The BMC has proposed appointing IIT Bombay directly, without inviting competitive tenders, citing the institute’s technical expertise and the specialised nature of the work. Under the amended Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, works exceeding Rs 3 lakh are ordinarily required to be tendered. However, the civic body has sought relaxation from this provision under Section 72(3), arguing that no useful purpose would be served by floating public tenders for such a specialised assignment.IIT Bombay has quoted a fee of Rs 12 lakh for carrying out the structural audit and has sought full advance payment before commencing the study. The structural audit will help determine the condition of the bridges and whether reconstruction is warranted. The expenditure will be met from the bridge department’s budgetary allocation for 2026-27.Many FOBs in the city are jointly owned and maintained by the railways and the BMC under a 50:50 cost-sharing arrangement.
