Under the IRDP, fashioned on the Thane Municipal Corproation (TMC) model, the UMC plans to undertake widening of 25 roads. ``This will mean demoliton of 3,000 structures of which 500 will have to be razed totally,'' pointed out Shinde. ``We have tried to keep the demolitions to the minimum possible keeping in mond the larger public sentiment.'' The total costs of the IRDP which will build a total of 20.863 kms of roads is estimated to be Rs 3,048.23 crore. Three roads will also be concretised at an estimated cost of Rs 466.97 crore, including the road surrounding the Gol Maidan at Camp 1, Nehru Chowk to Shivaji chowk in Camp 3 and Jhulelal temple to Red Crosshospital (via Balkanji Baari) at Camp 3. According to TMC commissioner T S Chandrashekhar, who holds additional charge of the UMC, ``The UMC has a resource crunch but we will have to augment funds because if there is no intervention at this stage the city which has come to a brink may go to a point beyond recall.'' The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) has also been approached for funds.

Interestingly, with the change in guard at the UMC, political parties have switched their stance on the issue of demolition. Well aware of the unpopularity of any decision that involves demolitions, the opposition Sena-BJP is clamouring for ``development of the city'' while the ruling Congress-Ulhasnagar People's Party-RPI-Independent combine is trying to ensure that not many feathers are ruffled up.

``It is fun to watch the catch-22 stituation the ruling parties find themselves in. If they go ahead with the project, then we can say that the demoltions never happened as long as we were in powerboth here and at the state level. If they don't, then we can say that they have managed to do little inspite of having their own government at the state,'' commented a senior BJP corporator. Mayor Hardas Makhija on his part felt that the ruling parties are not against development, as is being made out to be. ``We are as interested in development and beautification of Ulhasnagar. But people's aspirations cannot be ignored. We will have to take the people for whom the roads are being built into confidence first,'' he told Express Newsline.