HC expresses concern over Metro station near Ambazari lake

NAGPUR: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Thursday expressed concern over construction of Metro station near the 146-year-old dam on Ambazari lake. It, however, refused to stay the ongoing construction work at the site, as demanded by the petitioner.
A division bench comprising justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Arun Upadhyay tersely observed that none of the agencies; Maha Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), and state government, have bothered to look into the threat to the dam as pointed out by the Dam Security Agency, having expertise in gauging threats to dams. The HC asked NMC and government to file a reply on steps taken to protect the dam by Monday.

Petitioner Mohammad Sharif had filed a PIL contending that MMRCL disregarded rules while constructing the station perilously close to the dam, which is posing a threat to its structure.

On Thursday, the court asked MMRCL executive director JK Nandanwar to file an affidavit the same day to explain why the construction will cause no harm to the dam. Later, MMRCL, through its counsel Kaustubh Devgade, filed an affidavit stating that there was no threat to the dam, as the station is coming up on an elevated platform. MMRCL is taking every care not to cause any damage to the lake or dam, it said.

Earlier, the petitioner had pointed out that no construction can take place within 200 meters of a dam, as per the rules. The state should consult expert agencies before undertaking such projects, which wasn’t done. NMC overlooked the report of the special agencies while granting permission to the Metro work, he said.