Alam Pathan | Mumbai

Wire Centre

Nehru Science Centre Metro Pathway: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has approved a proposal to build an underground pedestrian pathway connecting the Nehru Science Centre Metro Station (Metro-3) in Worli directly to the Worli Promenade and its proposed landscape garden. The proposal was passed with a majority vote at a Standing Committee meeting, according to Standing Committee Chairman Shri Prabhakar Shinde. A landscape garden spanning roughly 300 acres is proposed alongside the Dharmaveer Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Road project, which will also include a reserved promenade for citizens. While the area is currently relatively easy to reach by car, there is no adequate public transport or pedestrian connectivity for ordinary citizens to access it, and the underground pathway is intended to bridge this gap.

Nehru Science Centre Metro Pathway – What the Pathway Will Offer

Commuters exiting Nehru Science Centre Metro Station will be able to walk through the Mahalaxmi Racecourse area, under Lala Lajpatrai Road, directly to the Worli Promenade and the landscape garden. The pathway will run approximately 1 kilometre in length and 7.5 metres in width, allowing large numbers of citizens to move safely and conveniently. Construction will be carried out by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), while the BMC will bear the entire cost of ₹702.44 crore.

Nehru Science Centre Metro Pathway – A Boost for Metro Use and Tourism

Shinde said metro ridership in Mumbai has been steadily rising, making it an affordable and convenient mode of public transport for ordinary Mumbaikars. Once commuters reach Nehru Science Centre via Metro-3, this underground pathway will give them direct access to the promenade and landscape garden, reducing dependence on private vehicles and boosting public transport and pedestrian infrastructure. He added that the pathway will also give a significant push to tourism in the coastal road area, with the landscape garden expected to draw both Mumbai residents and tourists from India and abroad who can reach the area affordably via the metro.

Nehru Science Centre Metro Pathway – Project Background

Shinde said the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation had expressed readiness to undertake construction of the underground tunnel back in June 2025. Following this, at a joint meeting in December 2025, the Municipal Commissioner approved having the work executed through the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, with the BMC agreeing to bear the full financial cost. He noted that Mumbai’s expanding metro network has significantly helped ease traffic congestion on the city’s roads, in turn reducing the burden on the BMC’s road transport infrastructure. In line with this approach, the BMC has previously provided around ₹2,500 crore in funding for the Metro-3 project, and has now agreed to take on the financial responsibility for this underground pedestrian pathway as well.

Nehru Science Centre Metro Pathway – Shinde Hits Back at Critics

Addressing criticism of the decision, Shinde said there was nothing improper about one public sector body — the BMC — getting work done through another public sector body, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, in the interest of citizens. He said the decision to use Metro-3’s technical expertise, rather than routing the work through a private contractor, would allow the project to be completed more effectively. He questioned why this had upset some critics, suggesting that those accustomed to skimming profits from contractor-driven projects were struggling to digest the proposal. Shinde said the interests of Mumbai’s citizens remain paramount for the Bharatiya Janata Party, and that the proposal was passed with a majority to provide residents with a modern, safe, and convenient pedestrian facility. He added that the underground pathway would create an effective link between the metro, the coastal road, the promenade, and the proposed landscape garden, and would serve in future as an important link in safe, accessible, and affordable public transport for Mumbaikars.