Parts of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) for Mumbai’s newest twin tunnels are set to arrive by December. The 3.9-km underground link will run between Malad’s Mindspace and Charkop in Kandivali.

Mumbai’s ₹5,821-crore project will build 3.9-km twin tunnels 40 metres below Malad Creek, linking Mindspace in Malad with Charkop in Kandivali. Mining is scheduled to begin in 2027, and the project is targeted for completion in 2029. The underground route aims to ease the western suburbs’ dependence on the Western Express Highway, Link Road and SV Road.

The Bombay High Court expressed displeasure with the collector (suburbs) for not taking immediate steps to remove encroaching shanties beside a pond in Charkop, Kandivli West, as directed on July 21. A bench led by Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge was hearing the BMC’s petition seeking permission to beautify and conserve the pond because mangroves are present there. The judges commended the BMC for an “amazing improvement” in cleaning a major part of the natural pond by removing garbage, and said the collector’s office “has hardly moved”.

Around 125 residents of Powai and Chandivali met on August 2 to warn Mumbai’s planners that their neighbourhoods could not take more development without supporting infrastructure. Residents across the city are protesting vertical density they say is choking streets and damaging local environments.

On July 1, 2026, Navi Mumbai received roughly 200 mm of rain in 24 hours; the NMMC headquarters gauge in CBD Belapur recorded 253 mm. The Sanpada underpass and parts of Nerul, Juinagar, Vashi and the APMC market were inundated.

After protests, RTIs and a BMC public hearing on May 23, 2025, the civic body changed part of the Coastal Road design to address residents’ concern that a retaining wall would separate their homes from mangroves. In June 2026, a Mangrove Cell inspection found alleged illegal structures, land filling and dumping in the protected mangrove buffer near the proposed Charkop coastal-road exit.

Residents have also objected to including properties in larger cluster redevelopment models, citing consent, transparency and control over society redevelopment. Similar disputes were reported in 2026 in MHADA colonies in Worli and Bandra.

BMC presented plan to construct water tunnel running 4.6km from Manori to Charkop and 2.6km to Kandivali in North Mumbai. Project approved by Maharashtra Government on July 3, 2026.

Purpose: Transport drinking water from desalination project at Manori; bridge gap between Mumbai's daily water demand of 4,600 MLD and current supply of 4,100 MLD (500 MLD deficit); reduce dependence on rainfall-fed lakes (Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Vihar, Tulsi).

Technical details:

• Tunnel excavated at depth of 104-128m using two tunnel boring machines
• Three deep shafts at Manori, Charkop, and Mahavir Nagar
• Pumping station at Manori capacity: 400 MLD
• Infrastructure includes product water tanks, valve chambers, SCADA integration
• Construction duration: 45 months; operation and maintenance: 84 months

Tender: Floated on concept, construction and operation-maintenance basis with lump sum rate method. Received 9 time extensions; 2 bidders participated. Afcons Infrastructure awarded contract for Rs 1,575 crores.

Corporators raised concerns about cost inflation, transparency, material quality, and effects of mixed desalinated and fresh water.