Presently, even if the construction firms attempt to carry out civil works after the deadline of 10 pm, police patrol vehicles prevent them from working.
In order to fast track Metro rail construction before the Union and Assembly elections scheduled in 2019, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will seek permission to carry out metro rail construction work on city roads even at night, that is, between 10 pm to 5 am. There are two metro rail corridors that are under-construction in the western suburbs – Dahisar East-Andheri East (Metro 7) and Dahisar-D.N. Nagar (Metro 2A). In the months to come, some more metro lines will be implemented – D. N. Nagar-Bandra-Mankhurd (Metro 2B), Kanjurmarg-Jogeshwari-Lokhandwala (Metro 6) and Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavli (Metro 4) – as they are presently at various stages of approvals and bidding.
As per the regulations, the upper cap for noise is 55 decibel (dB) between 10 pm and 5 am. “We will be moving a proposal seeking an exemption for construction of metro rail projects,” said Praveen Darade, Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA. This will help in completing civil works before the deadline as well as reducing inconvenience presently faced by motorists on the Western Express Highway as well as on Link Road.
Presently, even if the construction firms attempt to carry out civil work after the deadline of 10 pm, police patrol vehicles stop them, due to noise regulations. However, the noise levels when civil construction is underway is said to be around 85 dB. Thereby, giving an exemption to metro rail construction would mean increasing noise pollution by another 30 dB. However, the officials claim that the noise levels on the arterial roads of Mumbai is already high at night due to vehicular traffic on roads.
The reason behind seeking exemption is to meet the over-ambitious deadline of March 2019 when the general as well as assembly elections are scheduled. According to a source, “If the construction works continue as they are progressing presently, there is a possibility of not meeting March 2019 deadline.”
Secondly, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is also Chairman of MMRDA thereby important for the BJP-led state government to finish it on time. The Dahisar-DN Nagar 2A metro is going to be 18.5 km with 17 stations at an estimated cost of Rs 6,410 crore. Whereas, Dahisar East-Andheri East 7 metro will be 16.5-kms long with 16 stations and the estimated price has been pegged at Rs 6,208 crore.
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