High court directs civic body to stop under-construction ROB work: RTI

Thane: Commuters hoping for a faster commute on the Thane-Kalyan slow railway corridor may continue to face delays as the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has been asked by the Bombay high court (HC) to stop work on the under-construction overbridge at the crucial level crossing.
The revelation was done following a RTI query filed by a Kalwa-based activist last week, who was shocked to know that the TMC has been issued a stop work notice by the HC following a land acquisition issue at the east side of the city. The civic body, in reply to activist Siddesh Desai, said that they are yet to issue any work order for the east side landing of the road overbridge (ROB) due to the court case.
“The Railways is looking at line expansion between Thane and Kalyan, but the TMC is yet to start work on the landings at both ends of the structure. The TMC has said that they have been asked to stop the work following a land acquisition issue at the east side of the city due to which they have not issued any work order for the same,” said Desai.
Railway officials have been long complaining about the level crossing at Kharegaon that is one of the reasons for the delay in suburban train schedules on this section as the gate is often operated for nearly 10 minutes at a stretch during peak hours forcing traffic on both lines to be shut. The Railways and TMC had worked out a solution by constructing a ROB at the spot several years ago.
While the TMC was to construct the road access from both ends of the bridge, the Railways was to construct the portion over the four lines passing the stretch. While the work on the railway lines is nearly complete, the TMC has started work on only one side of the bridge landing at Kalwa west while that on the opposite side is yet to be formulated.
However, the RTI reply has stunned activists and railway commuters who are now worried about the fate of the project. “How can the administration start work on the crucial project without even ensuring the land required to execute it is in their possession. This looks like a wastage of the common man’s money,” said an irate commuter.
Meanwhile, a senior civic official confirmed the work was suspended following a stay order by the HC. A hearing is scheduled on June 11.