Mumbai’s citizens may be generally vexed with their megapolis’s growing traffic, pollution and crime, but it has actually done reasonably well in one aspect—infrastructure projects under a national scheme.

Mumbai has completed 13 of 26 projects, valued at Rs 2,873.4 crore, financed by the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). It is fourth among all cities with completed projects—Bangalore has the highest number of completed projects, with 24 of 38.

The completed Mumbai projects include: an underground tunnel from the Malabar Hill reservoir in south Mumbai to Cross Maidan (3.6 km), the middle Vaitarna water supply project for Mumbai and an underground tunnel 12-km long, for water supply from Maroshi (in Andheri in north west) to Ruparel College (Matunga in the south central Mumbai).

These projects, of course, are only a fraction of what the city requires. Among the critical projects expected to cost more than Rs 18,660 crore are a new metro line and another sealink from Sewri on the eastern seaboard to Nhava Sheva on the mainland. These projects have made no headway because there are no funds available. Greater Mumbai (Mumbai and suburban Mumbai) has a population of 12.4 million, but the urban agglomeration of Mumbai stretches into the neighboring districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad and now accommodates an estimated 26 million people. The infrastructure costs to link all these people to their workplaces are likely to be enormous.

The JNNURM is just a start.