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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Infrastructure moment in MMR

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) stands at a critical inflection point as the Mahayuti alliance secured near-complete control over key municipal corporations across the region. With aligned political leadership at the state and civic levels, the long-fragmented governance architecture of India’s most complex urban agglomeration may finally see greater coherence in planning and execution. For a region grappling with mobility stress, water insecurity and uneven urban expansion, the...

Infrastructure moment in MMR

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) stands at a critical inflection point as the Mahayuti alliance secured near-complete control over key municipal corporations across the region. With aligned political leadership at the state and civic levels, the long-fragmented governance architecture of India’s most complex urban agglomeration may finally see greater coherence in planning and execution. For a region grappling with mobility stress, water insecurity and uneven urban expansion, the question now is not what to build—but how quickly and seamlessly projects can be delivered. Urban mobility remains the backbone of MMR’s infrastructure agenda. Several metro corridors are at advanced stages, including the Andheri West–Vikhroli Metro Line 6 and extensions of the Colaba–Bandra–SEEPZ Metro Line 3. While construction has progressed steadily, coordination issues with municipal agencies—particularly related to road restoration, utilities shifting and traffic management—have often slowed execution. With elected civic bodies now politically aligned with the state government and agencies like MMRDA and MMRC, these bottlenecks are expected to ease. Decision-making on road closures, permissions for casting yards and last-mile integration with buses and footpaths could see faster turnarounds. Suburban rail projects such as the Panvel–Karjat corridor and additional railway lines on the Central and Western routes are also likely to benefit from smoother land acquisition and rehabilitation approvals, traditionally the most contentious municipal functions. Regional Connectivity MMR’s road infrastructure has expanded rapidly in recent years, but execution has often been uneven across municipal boundaries. Projects such as the Mumbai Coastal Road, the Goregaon–Mulund Link Road, the Thane–Borivali tunnel and the Airoli–Katai connector have regional significance but require constant coordination with local bodies for utilities, encroachments and traffic planning. Under a unified civic dispensation, authorities expect fewer inter-agency delays and greater willingness at the municipal level to prioritise regionally critical projects over hyper-local political considerations. The next phase of the Coastal Road, suburban creek bridges, and arterial road widening projects in fast-growing nodes like Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli and Panvel could be streamlined as municipal corporations align their development plans with state transport objectives. Water Security Water supply remains one of the most politically sensitive infrastructure issues in MMR, particularly in peripheral urban zones. Projects such as the Surya Regional Water Supply Scheme and proposed dam developments in the Karjat region are designed to address chronic shortages in Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar and parts of Navi Mumbai. While these projects are state-driven, municipal cooperation is critical for distribution networks, billing systems and sewerage integration. With elected bodies replacing administrators, local governments are expected to accelerate last-mile pipelines, treatment plants and sewage networks that often lag behind bulk water infrastructure. Unified political control may also reduce resistance to tariff rationalisation and long-delayed sewage treatment upgrades mandated under environmental norms. Housing Integration One area where political alignment could have an outsized impact is redevelopment—particularly slum rehabilitation and transit-oriented development. Many large housing projects have stalled due to disputes between civic officials, state agencies and local political interests. A cohesive governance structure could fast-track approvals for cluster redevelopment near metro corridors, unlocking both housing supply and ridership potential. Municipal corporations are also likely to align their development control regulations more closely with state urban policy, enabling higher density near transport nodes and more predictable redevelopment timelines. This could be transformative for older suburbs and industrial belts awaiting regeneration. The return of elected municipal councils after years of administrative rule introduces political accountability but also sharper alignment with state priorities. Budget approvals, tendering processes and policy decisions that earlier faced delays due to political uncertainty are expected to move faster. Capital expenditure plans could increasingly reflect regional priorities rather than fragmented ward-level demands. However, challenges remain. Faster execution will depend not only on political control but on institutional capacity, contractor performance and financial discipline. Public scrutiny is also likely to intensify as elected representatives seek visible results within fixed tenures.

KaleidThe Hidden Cost of Doing Too Muchoscope

A few days ago, I was stuck near Ghodbunder Road in one of those slow, crawling patches where the car keeps moving, but you still don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere.


That’s the best metaphor I can offer for many business owners I meet. Everything is moving. Everyone is busy. Calls, approvals, meetings, follow-ups, WhatsApp messages, late-night fixes. The day is full. The week is full.


And yet… progress feels strangely flat. As we step into 2026, it’s worth asking a blunt question: Are you actually building momentum or just running a very expensive routine?

Effort Is Not The Problem

Most founders don’t struggle because they’re lazy. They struggle because they are too reliable.


A second-generation business leader I met recently (closer to home, in the Mumbai–Thane belt) told me:


“We are working nonstop. Sales is on. Delivery is on. I’m involved everywhere. Growth should follow, right?” He wasn’t wrong about the effort. But he was confusing motion with momentum.


When you keep doing more, without redesigning how the business runs, you don’t create scale. You create a bigger version of the same struggle.


The Quiet Truth

There’s a myth many of us carry, especially in family-run and founder-led businesses: If I’m always available, I’m responsible. If I’m involved in every decision, I’m committed. If I’m in every loop, the business is “under control”.


But what really happens over time is more uncomfortable: The business starts depending on your effort instead of your design. And then your presence becomes the glue holding everything together. That glue works… until it doesn’t.


In the Mahabharata, Abhimanyu enters the Chakravyuh bravely. He fights hard. He holds his own. But he gets trapped because he knows how to enter, not how to exit. That’s the founder version of “doing too much”.


You enter every loop: You approve every discount. You rewrite every client email. You jump into every operations fire. You personally “close” every stuck situation.


Not because your team is useless. But because the exit path was never designed.


And slowly, the business becomes a Chakravyuh of your own making where the only way things move is if you are in the middle of it.


Hidden Cost Is The Team

Here’s what over-effort quietly does: It trains the team to wait. Every time you step in “just this once”, you teach people that escalation is the real workflow.


It shrinks initiative. People stop thinking ahead. They focus on keeping you updated, not solving the issue. It creates decision fatigue. You start carrying hundreds of micro-decisions. Even small things feel heavy. It blocks succession … emotionally, not just structurally. Because the team never builds confidence without you.


I’ve seen this pattern so often that I started noticing it in myself too outside business. When I over-function, the system around me under-functions. Not because people are incapable. But because my behaviour quietly tells them, “I don’t trust the process unless I touch it”. That’s a hard thing to admit. But it’s also a freeing realisation.


Now contrast Abhimanyu with Krishna. Krishna didn’t win by doing more. He shifted outcomes by designing decisions: Who acts, when. What gets escalated, and what doesn’t. What “done” looks like. What happens if someone is unavailable.


That’s what mature leadership looks like in a growing business. Not more involvement. More architecture.


If you want a different 2026, change the lens. Most people enter a new year with new goals.


A better question is: What are you still personally compensating for inside your business?


Because if your calendar is packed and your mind is always “on”, it usually means one of these is missing: Clear ownership. Clear escalation paths. Clear “done” definitions. Clear decision windows When those are missing, effort becomes the default strategy. And effort is a poor substitute for structure.


Abhimanyu fought hard and got trapped. Krishna stayed out of the fight and shaped the field. So, here’s the question to carry into 2026: Are you building a business you can exit… or a loop you keep re-entering?


And if things feel heavy even after all your hard work, maybe the answer is not “work harder”. Maybe it’s: design better.


(The author is Co-founder & Principal Consultant at PPS Consulting and works with growth-stage founders to replace high-effort leadership with system-led scale. Views personal. Reach him at rahul@ppsconsulting.biz.)

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