Metro work at Cuffe Parade site can continue at night, says Bombay HC

The court also directed the MMRC to set up a grievance mechanism within one week from Saturday.

The Bombay High Court on Friday permitted the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) and its contractors Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to carry out construction and ancillary activities during the night at the Cuffe Parade site. The court was hearing an application filed by the MMRC to modify an order passed by former Chief Justice Manjula Chellur in August 2017 directing the corporation not to carry out any construction or ancillary work between 10 pm and 6 am at the site.

On Friday, Acting Chief Justice Naresh H Patil and Justice G S Kulkarni said: “The MMRCL and its contractors are permitted to carry out construction and/or ancillary activities also during the night hours, that is between 10 pm and 6 am. The said activities shall be undertaken by the due implementation of the recommendation as made by NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute) in its report of August 2018.”

Justice Patil observed: “It is a matter of common knowledge that the existing transport facilities in the city of Mumbai are falling short to cater to the transport needs of lakhs of citizens. Every day there are about nine deaths due to overcrowding of trains. It is a legitimate expectation of the citizens of the city that they travel comfortably and not in inhuman conditions. If the object is to unburden the transport system, some inconvenience in putting the system in place is required to be tolerated for larger public benefits.”

The court also directed the MMRC to set up a grievance mechanism within one week from Saturday. On Monday, Advocate General A A Kumbhakoni and Advocate Akshay Shinde, appearing for the MMRC, had told the court that a grievance mechanism for registration of complaints through a separate e­mail address would be notified, a toll-free telephone number to lodge complaints would be made available, an officer would be available at the site 24X7 to take complaints and a register shall be maintained at the site.

The court also said: “Any person who is aggrieved by any specific instance of noise level exceeding permissible limits shall either approach the grievance redressal officer to be notified on behalf of the MMRCL/state government and/or may resort to the statutory remedy available under the Noise Pollution (Control and Regulation) Rules, 2000.”