Rs 70 cr to muffle traffic

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) plans to spend the money on the construction of noise barriers on the four roads it is laying, reports Zeeshan Shaikh.

Residents on four roads that see heavy traffic are set to get a nearly Rs 70-crore gift to deaden vehicular noise.

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The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) plans to spend the money on the construction of noise barriers on the four roads it is laying.

The plan is to set up the acoustic barriers on the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road, Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, Sahar Elevated Road and the Bandra-Kurla Complex Road, which are the responsibility of the MMRDA.

MMRDA officials said they were undertaking a survey to find sensitive spots on these roads as far as noise pollution was concerned.

“In view of the recent government resolution, we will be calling for bids from international firms for setting up noise barriers on a few roads on a pilot basis,” MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar said.

The state government had issued a resolution on December 11 asking all public agencies to construct noise barriers on existing roads and flyovers.

An acoustic barrier is an exterior structure designed to protect from noise pollution.

The MMRDA, the planning agency for the metropolis that consists of the city, Thane Navi Mumbai and other areas in the neighbourhood, has decided that it will put these noise barriers on all the roads that it constructs.

A state government circular has made it necessary for all flyovers less then 30 metres from buildings to have noise barriers shielding people from sound levels greater then 60-70 decibels. In the metropolitan region, only the JJ Flyover has noise barriers.

With aesthetics also an issue, the government order stipulates that the sound barriers should not be more then nine feet in height.

MMRDA officials said they would select only such bidders for the project as would promise to adhere to the European Union norms for noise barriers.