Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority to study impact of Metro-III

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to be sensitive to the city’s heritage and will conduct detailed studies on the impact of the third Metro line on structures in the Fort heritage precincts like the high court and CST station.
MMRDA additional commissioner, S Srinivas, said they will conduct the study to ensure that they know all details before any work begins.
“We are also making an Environment Impact Assessment Report and A Social Impact Assessment Report. These reports are officially needed by the financing agency. As for the heritage study, we are doing it on our own to protect the city’s heritage,” he said.
The third line from Colaba-Bandra-Seepz will cost Rs 21,000 crore and will be fully underground.
Srinivas said the MMRDA has held talks with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which will be funding the line and they are keen on the environment and social impact reports.
Dwelling on the challenges faced by the MMRDA for building the third line, Srinivas said that having an underground car depot for the line would make it very expensive as it would require a 24-hour air circulating system to remove the fumes. Srinivas said they were exploring ways of disposing the debris that would be generated after the massive digging for the underground Metro. They were looking at keeping the debris in abandoned quarries and at a minor port near Mumbai. Dumping the waste rocks in the sea will need environmental clearance, he said.
Three Metro stations near the airport will be built by the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) and two stations at SEEPZ and MIDC will be financed partly by a central government organization since SEEPZ is an export zone.