Actually, they have been voicing their dissent in the recent past with the state Urban Development department issuing a stop-work notice two months ago on the construction of flyovers within the city. But work is going on unabated lamented State Urban Development principal secretary K Nalinakshan.`` We issued orders to stop work as per World Bank's directive to undertake a study on the project's feasibility,''informed Nalinakshan.

Butno work has stopped on the island city's 14 flyovers. He declared that the flyover project needs to be reviewed and that there's a need for greater public debate on the subject. Nalinakshan has questioned the utility of the flyovers. ``How will the flyovers benefit the city. What we are lacking is an integrated planning.''

V K Phatak, planner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), yet another senior official agrees that flyovers are coming up at random without prior planning. He aptly describes a future ride from Bandra to Borivli on the Western Express Highway as ``a joyride up and down several flyovers dotting the stretch of highway.'' He wonders how another highway near University of Mumbai, Kalina will help ease the flow of traffic as it only raises the six lanes and makes them parallel to the road. The whole project is a little ill conceived he feels.

The World Bank too has expressed its reservations on the necessity of 14 flyovers within the island city limits. It has asked for acomprehensive study on the flyovers coming up in the island city as it was felt that there has been no study done. ``When the idea is to decongest the city traffic and curb the increase of private vehicles inside the city, the flyover project is at cross purposes,'' says another top Urban Development department bureaucrat. So while the first of the flyovers was inaugurated earlier this year and more are expected soon, bureaucratic and World Bank rumblings are receiving no attention. The Sena government is happy to have at least one of its pet projects going well and appears to be in no mood to entertain doubts at a stage when polls are less than a year away.