People don’t trust MMRCL, says Bombay HC

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Friday observed that the reason people kept opposing Metro work on grounds related to tree-cutting and noise pollution was their “lack of confidence” in the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL).

The court was hearing a public interest litigation alleging flouting of noise pollution norms in Metro 3 work in south Mumbai. A division bench of chief justice ManjulaChellur and justice N.M. Jamdar on Friday heard four different petitions in connection with Metro work.

The court suggested appointing a committee comprising experts, some prudent residents, and a high court judge to address different issues raised by locals so that people did not have to approach the court every time.

The committee would ensure that the ongoing Metro work did not harm heritage structures and the environment or flout noise pollution rules.

On the issue of noise pollution, the bench directed the state and MMRCL to inform the court through an affidavit what work would be carried out for Metro 3 in the next three months.

The court asked them to include in the affidavit details such as what work would be carried out during the day and night; what was the reason for choosing that time; and what would be the decibel level during work.

The court asked MMRCL to put up weekly details about the work on its website so that people were aware of it. The court deferred hearing on all petitions related to Metro work beyond the Diwali vacation. Advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhkoni assured the court that he would file the affidavit with the said details. Kumbhkoni reiterated that though it was not intended to carry out high decibel level work at night, there was some work which could not be stopped mid-way so if the situation arose, work would have to be completed without stopping it.

One of the petitioners’ lawyers pointed out that owing to the space crunch and traffic problems in Mumbai, people felt the Metro work was posing a problem.

MMRC’S CLARIFICATION

MMRC had earlier clarified that vibrations caused due to the Metro work were less than 1/4th the permissible limit and thus, harmless.

In the event, the limits were exceeded, work would be stopped, further design revised and mitigation measures undertaken. MMRC has about 12 types of monitoring instruments which are to be installed at different stages for various activities.