Demand of underground Metro-4: Bombay HC asks MMRDA, state to respond

The petitioners, Thane Nagrik Pratishthan and activist Rohit Joshi, want the Metro line, extending from Wadala to Kasarvadavali on Ghodbunder Road in Thane, to be developed as an underground corridor instead.

The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday directed the state government and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to respond to a public interest litigation (PIL), challenging permission to develop Metro-4 as an elevated corridor.

The petitioners approached HC, challenging two notifications issued by the Urban Development Department on June 30, 2018, and January 2, 2019. (HT fil e photo)

The petitioners, Thane Nagrik Pratishthan and activist Rohit Joshi, want the Metro line, extending from Wadala to Kasarvadavali on Ghodbunder Road in Thane, to be developed as an underground corridor instead.

MMRDA has proposed the 32.32-km line as an elevated corridor that begins at the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) near Wadala, enters Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg in Sion, rejoins EEH in Thane, and proceeds along Ghodbunder Road.

The petitioners approached HC, challenging two notifications issued by the Urban Development Department on June 30, 2018, and January 2, 2019. The first notification appoints MMRDA as a special planning authority (SPA) for the project and the second exempts it from the requirement of obtaining permissions from other planning authorities.

The petitioners have challenged the first notification contending that section 40 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966, empowers the state to appoint an SPA for an undeveloped area and not for a project. Challenging the second notification, the petitioners said that of the 32 stations along the elevated corridor, at least 11 are on narrow roads that are less than 20-metre wide. At some stretches, the Metro line will pass too close to existing buildings and pose a threat to citizens’ lives and properties.

Further, the petitioners complained that the MMRDA has not obtained prior environmental clearance for the Metro line, although it is mandatory. They have, therefore, prayed that all permissions granted for the elevated corridor be cancelled and MMRDA be directed to develop the Metro line underground.

The bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Nitin Jamdar has granted the state and MMRDA six weeks to file an affidavit in response.