MUMBAI: Shravan Yadav, a 36-year-old resident of Waliv in Vasai East, fractured his leg on Friday after his two-wheeler skidded due to a pothole. “The entire six-kilometre stretch from Vasai East to Vasai West is riddled with potholes,” he said. “It is impossible to manoeuvre your way through them without damaging your vehicle or hurting yourself.”
Like Yadav, thousands of commuters are at risk every day due to the poor condition of roads, recurring potholes, waterlogging, and the quality of infrastructure across the Vasai-Virar region, particularly after the July 4-8 deluge. Locals said that roads, whether under the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC), Gram Panchayats or the Zilla Parishad, continued to deteriorate despite an annual spend of crores of rupees.
“The VVCMC has an annual budget of at least ₹25 crore for repairing and patching potholes on internal roads,” said BJP corporator Manoj Patil. “But its officials have a cosy nexus with 12 selected contractors, who have the leeway to do a shoddy job. Naturally the potholes reappear within a couple of months.”
Patil said that 15 days before the monsoon this year, the VVCMC spent ₹8 crore on the patchwork of the six-km main road from Vasai West towards Vasai East. The potholes reappeared on July 9.
“Shaitan Singh is the contractor who did such a shoddy job,” said Patil. “Two years ago, he was given a ₹14-crore contract to raise the level of this same road in order to prevent flooding. His work even at that point was so bad that commuters to date have to spend at least one hour in traffic to cover the two kilometres to the railway station.”
When contacted, Prashant Langi, senior police inspector, traffic, said, “I have posted six constables on that road to manage traffic but due to the potholes, vehicles slow down and create a jam. We have written to the VVCMC to repair the road as soon as possible. However, due to continuous rain, even patchwork is not possible. When the rain stops for at least three days, the VVCMC will be able to repair the road.”
When contacted, VVCMC commissioner Prithviraj PB said, “Traffic jams are not only because of potholes. As far as the Vasai East-West road is concerned, we have already blacklisted the contractor.”
Patil, however, claimed this was an eyewash. “If the VVCMC blacklists one company owned by a contractor, he merely changes the name and reapplies for the tender,” he said. “The interesting part is that he gets the contract. It’s a vicious circle where the VVCMC and the contractor both profit at the expense of taxpayers, looting them of their money and time.”
Sachin Patil, himself a road contractor, reiterated this, saying he would have done the same work for ₹50 lakh. “The officials and contractors pocket the money, and taxpayers have to suffer,” he said.
The main roads in Nalasopara, Naigaon and Virar are in the same condition. “The roads of Dhanivbaug, Wakhanpada and Bilalpada are completely pothole-ridden,” said Nalasopara East corporator Pankaj Patil. “Several drivers have hurt themselves and many vehicles have broken down because of this. We have written to the VVCMC to blacklist the contractor.”
MLA Sneha Dubey had submitted a proposal to MMRDA and the Extended Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP) to concretise all three main roads (Vasai, Nalasopara and Virar), and other internal roads, a total of 72 km, at a cost of ₹2,861 crore in 2025 as a solution to recurring potholes. “The process of acquiring sanctions for the proposal is on,” said Patil.
