Mumbai metro pillar collapse: Consultant ignored 150 notices for shoddy work, MMRDA let it slide

The general consultant, a consortium of three companies, has been sacked; MMRDA to inspect various under-construction metro corridors

MUMBAI: The general consultant for the under-construction Metro 4 project has been sacked after shocking details emerged following Saturday’s accident that claimed a life and injured three others in Mulund.

On Saturday, a 6-foot slab from the Metro 4 construction site fell on an auto and a car in Mulund, killing one person. (Satish Bate/HT)

The extent of negligence cloaking the Metro 4 project can be gauged from the fact that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the government agency executing the project, had issued the consultant overseeing it more than 150 notices in the last two and a half years for deficiencies in various projects in its portfolio. Most of these notices related to work on Metro 4, being built by a consortium of Reliance Infrastructure and Astaldi SPA (RAJV) along with sub-contractor Milan Road Buildtech.

Rather than holding the contractors accountable, the general consultant, a consortium of DB Engineering & Consulting, Hill International and Louis Berger, forwarded these notices to the contractors but failed to act when they did not hear back. MMRDA too failed to act when its notices went unaddressed but, inexplicably, continued to make payments to the consultant, amounting to ₹380 crore over the last 8 years.

“We issued the consultant more than 150 notices across two and a half years for work on various projects they were overseeing, the largest project being Metro-4. We had also summoned those who headed the India operations of the three companies in the consortium, and flagged the contractor’s shoddy work,” said a senior MMRDA official. “Yet when the accident took place on Saturday, no representative of the general consultant was present,” the official added.

There were problems with the contractor too. Sources said that in 2022, a sub-contractor, Milan Road Buildtech, was roped in for the project as the consortium contracted to build the metro line was underperforming. As a result, MMRDA started making payments directly to Milan Road Buildtech.

Negligence and apathy ran so deep that an MMRDA official said there were eight concrete blocks of the kind that tumbled onto the street on Saturday. “The cement that should have held this block in place was not cured and the block balanced precariously for 11 hours before it crashed onto the street below. There was no one from the general consultant inspecting the site or else the accident could have been avoided,” the official said.

Metro lines being inspected

Saturday’s accident raises serious questions about the quality of work – and lack of oversight – on some of Mumbai’s biggest infrastructure projects, including several new metro corridors being built. Post-mishap, MMRDA is mapping every inch of the 32.32-km long Metro 4, as it were. Engineers have mapped 20km so far. “So far, no engineering faults have emerged. A comprehensive picture will emerge only after the team submits its report. If any flaws are detected, the team will rectify them,” another MMRDA said.

The MMRDA will extend this inspection to other under-construction metro corridors, such as Lines 2B, 9, 5, 6. “We expect partial opening of Lines 2B and 9 by March end although the accident has pushed the completion and partial opening of Metro-4 and 4A until the investigation is complete,” said an MMRDA official.

In the aftermath of the accident, MMRDA has suspended three of its officials, while a fourth faces a departmental inquiry. It has also established a vigilance cell that will carry out safety inspections at various construction sites.

‘Faults’ emerge on social media

After Saturday’s tragedy, social media has been flooded with images of various metro construction sites, with alert citizens flagging what they believe are instances of faulty construction.

“Those aren’t errors in construction. Nevertheless, we are taking every social media post seriously and sending teams to those locations to verify the claims and respond to those posts,” said a senior MMRDA official.

In an attempt at crisis management, MMRDA plans to initiate an educational campaign on social media, helping to educate citizens on the kinds of points, joints, stitches, designs, involved in metro construction. “The idea is to let people know that every gap or crack isn’t a construction defect,” the official added.