Won’t start any Metro-2B work in Andheri now: MMRCL to Bombay HC

The association approached the HC objecting to the proposed corridor that will run along SV Road between Vile Parle and Bandra.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) on Wednesday assured the Bombay high court that it will not start any work relating to Metro-2B line at ESIC Nagar in Andheri (West) immediately, apart from the on-going soil testing work.

Advocate Kiran Bagalia, who represented MMRCL, stated this in response to a petition filed by an association of cooperative housing societies within Juhu Vile Parle Development (JVPD) Scheme complaining about the work undertaken by MMRCL along SV Road for Metro-2B line between Dahisar and Mankhurd.

The association approached the HC objecting to the proposed corridor that will run along SV Road between Vile Parle and Bandra. They demand that it be constructed underground to prevent further clogging. The trigger for the petition is the purported “soil testing” work at ESIC Nagar.

The petitioner association’s lawyer, senior advocate Venkatesh Dhond, said apart from soil testing, more work was being undertaken along the road. Members of the association had seen concrete pillars and barricades at many points on the road. This was slowing down traffic.

Responding to the petitioner’s complaint that even soil testing was being done without the civic body’s permission, Bagalia said the Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002 empowers MMRCL to take up the work without any prior permission. The judges, however, were sceptical about the claim. “So, anybody can start digging roads without any permission from the municipal corporation…Will you not be required to co-ordinate with the municipal corporation, if your work affects vehicular traffic,” the judges asked the lawyer.

The HC posted the petition for further hearing on June 12 after Bagalia’s assurance.