Public hearing for city’s first underground Metro to be held on April 11

Citizens can give their suggestions on the Colaba-Bandra SEEPZ underground Metro at the three-hour hearing, to be held at Bandra-Kurla Complex.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will hold a public hearing on April 11 to hear citizens’ views on the city’s first underground Metro.

HT Image

The hearing will be held at the Insurance Institute of India, located at the G Block of the Bandra-Kurla Complex, between 10am and end at 1pm. “Citizens can come and give their suggestions or objections to the Metro,” a senior MMRDA official said.

The MMRDA is planning to build the 33-km underground Metro, which will run from Colaba to SEEPZ via Bandra.

It has already been criticised for the delay in the construction of the elevated line. The first Metro line between Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar has been inordinately delayed, while the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro is stuck because of environmental issues.

Residents have also objected to the elevated Metro, suggesting an underground transport system instead.

The 33-km Metro is estimated to cost Rs21,000 crore, and will connect business districts such as Nariman Point, Bandra Kurla Complex, Andheri MIDC, SEEPZ and the international airport. This line will also be integrated with suburban train stations at Churchgate, CST, Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi. It will be also be integrated with the two Metro lines at Marol Naka and Bandra-Kurla Complex.

The Metro line will not be built on a public private partnership basis. The MMRDA will use its own funds, and 50% of the cost will be covered by a loan from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Even though building an underground Metro will be costly, MMRDA officials believe that working underground will cause minimum discomfort to the city’s residents and will also minimise problems of regulatory clearances.