Mumbai: The Bombay high court has extended the stay on work of the underground Metro at south Mumbai till October 10 after residents and institutions at DN Road again complained of structures developing cracks and pillars becoming disjointed due to the vibrations from the drilling work. While the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRC) requested the court to modify or vacate the stay failing which the project would be delayed and result in cost escalation, the court said it would allow work to continue only if the MMRC implemented the recommendation of the expert committee which submitted its suggestions on Thursday or suggested curative measures to avoid a collapse of the buildings.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dr Manjula Chellur and Justice N.M. Jamdar was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by JN Petit Institute seeking a stay on the Metro III work as the heritage structure suffered damages due to vibrations generated by the work. The petition had also complained of violation of noise pollution norms due to the piling work.
The MMRC in an affidavit it filed on Thursday said, “The need for the early completion of the project and the reasons for the same are evident from the fact that the public transport system of Mumbai is heavily overloaded and congested, and is on its edge,” said the affidavit.
After hearing the contentions of the MMRC, the bench said it was not willing to wait for the buildings to collapse and the suggestions of the expert committee that submitted its suggestions on Thursday should be followed or the MMRC should either consider the remedial measures suggested by the court appointed committee or, propose its own curative measures.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the JN Petit Institute said ever since he joined the organisation in 2016, a structural audit had not been done on the institute. The last time the structure was taken up for repairs was in 2015, he said.
