Mumbai, June 5 -- The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to put on hold its plan to widen Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road at Marine Drive from six lanes to 12, at least until the twin tunnel project linking the promenade to Orange Gate is complete and operational. State authorities first want to study traffic patterns once the Orange Gate-Marine Drive twin tunnels are ready, and then decide on the number of lanes to be added and their lengths, according to officials familiar with the matter. The twin-tunnel project, which will link the Eastern Freeway with the Mumbai Coastal Road, is scheduled for completion in June 2028. "It's a little premature to implement the project. After the coastal road was completed, we commenced construction of the Orange Gate-Marine Drive twin tunnel project. It would be too early to initiate road widening works. Let the twin tunnels get ready, and then we will take a call," said an MMRDA official, requesting anonymity. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had approved the Marine Drive road-widening plan in April last year, with an aim to prevent traffic bottlenecks once the twin tunnels are complete. The proposal was part of a larger project to provide seamless road connectivity in south Mumbai and along Mumbai's western coast through a chain of coastal roads. According to the plan, a three-kilometre stretch of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road from the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) to the Coastal Road entrance was to be widened from six lanes to 12. The project would require reclaiming parts of the Arabian Sea and modifying portions of the existing promenade. However, residents of Marine Drive, who were not convinced about the need to widen the road, expressed relief that the proposal has been put on hold. Ashok Gupta, vice president of the Marine Drive Residents' Association, said the proposal was ill-conceived. "All the technical aspects of such a plan were not studied before the announcement," he said. "We fail to understand why the respective government departments do not discuss such plans with resident associations before announcements and waste precious time and resources of all concerned," he added....