'MSRDC not keen on another hearing'

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation(MSRDC) is not likely to hold any more public hearings on the controversial Pedder Road flyover project, which is awaiting clearance from the central government.
MSRDC managing director Bipin Shrimali said they are not in favour of holding any more public hearings as the last one was disrupted.
Shrimali said they had forwarded the details of the meeting, including video footage of the protesters, to the ministry of environment and forests in Delhi. “We are expecting a decision on the issue of clearance soon,”
he added.
MSRDC had held a public hearing on the issue in July in which two groups had a slanging match and the meeting was disrupted. When members of the Pedder Road Residents Association raised objections, a group of protesters belonging to a political party broke into the venue and raised slogans in favour of building the flyover.
The residents’ association was expecting another meeting in which they would be given a chance to air its views in a proper manner. Association members present at the meeting had alleged that the disruption was intentional.
The residents have been opposing the flyover for the past nine years.MSRDC had sought to allay the fears of the residents by stating that they would install sound barriers to prevent noise and also have air purifiers along the route to keep pollution under control in the area.