Metro Rail News Online

Mumbai: On Thursday the Bombay High Court told the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to grant the hearing to residents objecting to the tree cutting proposal for the Metro car shed project. The court was hearing a petition filed by Preeti Menon and Ruben Mascarenhas, Aam Aadmi Party leaders and social activists through lawyer Rakesh Singh, seeking a direction to stop the “indiscriminate premature felling of trees inside Aarey colony” till permissions are obtained to construct the metro car shed/metro station. The petition says that on September 29, while driving past Aarey Colony, Menon happened to see trees being felled along Aarey Marol Road. “On making inquiries, she learned that the approach ramp and road to the car shed were being constructed… It was seen that more than 100 huge trees were cut and many more were being surveyed. It is the estimation of the petitioner that almost 400 or more full-grown trees are being slated for chopping,...

Mumbai: The inspection report submitted before the two-judge committee on Mumbai Metro 3 , which was appointed by the Bombay High Court, said 30-35% of the transplanted trees are nearly dead, and that there are still 839 trees to be transplanted. The report prepared by a junior committee consisting of two officers of the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority, pointed out that 2,439 trees should have been planted till date, but not even a few hundred trees have been planted. The petitioners have contended that the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) is taking proper care to prevent unnecessary hacking of trees, but the authorities are not taking enough care to transplant them as only 65-70% trees have shown sprouting of leaves. Justice Shantanu Kemkar and Justice B.R. Gavai directed the MMRCL to give a detailed plan on where they propose to plant/transplant trees. The judges also asked the petitioners to give details of other spaces where trees could be planted. The judges...

Mumbai: After holding protests and meetings with officials, residents from western suburbs have been preparing to move court against the elevated metro corridor 2B between DN Nagar and Mankhurd . The residents’ petition comes after a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed last week by a socio-political activist and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member from Bandra. According to the committee of activists and experts, who are demanding that the metro 2B line be made underground in Juhu and Bandra (West), citizen groups will be filing two PILs and individual writ petitions by next week. Anandini Thakoor, trustee of H/W Federation, told media that funds needed for the legal recourse are being collected through funding. Residents of SV Road had also sent letters of appeal to PM Narendra Modi after carrying out a massive signature campaign that has gained at least thousands of supporters. Gautam Rao, chairman of Gazdar Scheme Residents’ Trust, said, “Schools, housing soc...

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today directed the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) not to carry out any construction or ancillary activity of Metro-3 project at night for a period of two weeks, after a resident complained of inconvenience. "We direct the MMRCL not to carry out any construction activity or ancillary work pertaining to the Metro-3 project from 10 pm to 6 am for a period of two weeks," a division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice N M Jamdar said. The direction came on a petition filed by lawyer Robin Jaisinghani, a resident of south Mumbai, claiming that the authorities carried out construction activities through the night, causing inconvenience to all residents. MMRCL"s advocate Kiran Bagalia told the court that its request to the authority concerned for permission to carry out construction at night had not yet been granted and that only concrete filling work was being done during the night. To this, Jaishingani claimed the co...