With the Election Commission announcing October 13 as the date for Assembly elections in Maharashtra (Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh) — and counting for October 22 — the code of conduct kicked in today pushing Mumbai’s showpiece infrastructure projects further off their timelines. From the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link to the proposed rehabilitation of the Dharavi slum makeover, work will now have to wait until the new government takes charge in November.

• The Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link, the next arm of the Western Freeway project and a crucial link to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, needed only a nod from the Cabinet sub-committee for infrastructure headed by Chief Minister Ashok Chavan for the contract to be awarded so that work could start by the year end.

“The recommendation for the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link bid from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) board has been sent to the Chief Minister but he has taken a call that the new government will decide,” said Vimal Mundada, Minister for the Public Works Department. She said the bids required no re-evaluation.

The 3.6-km sea link will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 crore. A consortium, led by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, is the frontrunner having quoted almost Rs 1,000 crore less than the other in the fray.

While bids for the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link were received eight months ago, it has been two months since the MSRDC board forwarded its recommendations to the panel headed by Chavan.

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