HC vacates stay on tunnelling work near J N Petit library

In a major breather for the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), the Bombay High Court on Wednesday vacated the stay, it had imposed on the tunnelling work being carried out near the south Mumbaibased J N Petit library. The HC stayed the work on September 15 after the heritage library apprehended ‘structural’ damage due to the vibrations created by the drilling work.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Mahesh Sonak while lifting the stay on the tunnelling and drilling work, even asked the MMRCL to ensure the work is completed within the stipulated deadline.

The judges heard a petition moved by the J. N. Petit library. The library claimed that the tunnelling work for the Metro III line is creating vibrations that are more than the permissible limits of 5 mm per second.

The trustees of the library had informed the judges that a heavy limestone finial adorning a portion of the building’s ceiling had collapsed on August 25, due to the vibrations created by the tunnelling work. The trustees had even apprised the judges of their apprehension that the vibrations being created by the tunnelling work, can make an adversarial impact on the historic and heritage structures in the area.

Accordingly, the judges appointed a three-member committee comprising of experts from IIT-Bombay, one expert from the library and the MMRCL each. The Committee had conducted a survey to ascertain if the tunnelling work would make any adverse impact on these heritage structures.

Subsequently, the Committee had made certain recommendations to the MMRCL like providing additional support to the structure to strengthen it.

Accordingly, the MMRCL accepted and implemented all the recommendations and submitted their compliance report before the judges. Having been satisfied with the compliance report, the judges vacated the stay.