HC nod to resume Metro work at night in Sobo, but with riders

MUMBAI:THE Bombay high court on Friday allowed the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) to work round-theclock to build the Metro-3 line in south Mumbai — provided the MMRCL puts in place measures to reduce the noise from construction work.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice Naresh Patil and justice Girish Kulkarni vacated an August 11, 2017 order of another bench of the court, and allowed MMRCL to work between 10pm and 6am.

The 2017 order had stopped MMRCL from working at night, acting on a petition filed by advocate Robin Jaisinghani, who had complained about the high noise levels from the equipment used in the construction work.

Chief Justice Patil and justice Kulkarni, however, told the MMRCL that it will have to put in place measures to reduce the noise from construction works on the metro line, as recommended by the National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).

Earlier, NEERI had submitted a report to the high court with suggestions such as placing noise barriers around the construction sites, and using sound mufflers around the equipment.

Further, the bench asked the state government to set up, within a week, an effective grievance redressal system in case citizens have complaints about the noise levels.

The mechanism should allow

citizens to lodge complaints either through the telephone or emails, or to a designated officer who is available on the site 24x7.

CONTINUED ON P 10 ››RELATED REPORT, P5