DMRC and its strange logic

[Atul Patankar]

As reported at thaindian.com on May 28th, 2010

New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) In a reprieve for the Delhi Metro, the Delhi High Court Friday stayed a Central Information Commission’s (CIC) order directing it to disclose the design of a pillar which collapsed last year killing six people.
The CIC had last month directed the Delhi Metro to make public all the structural drawings related to the pillar at Zamrudpur in south Delhi in larger public interest.

Architect Sudhir Vohra had sought details of both the pile foundation and the superstructure, including all steel reinforcement details, foundation details, engineering calculations and soil tests for the cantilevered bracket of metro pillar number 67 on the upcoming Central Secretariat-Badarpur line.

The Delhi Metro refused to share any details saying their disclosure would affect the commercial interest of the company which makes it.

It also cited issues of safety and security saying disclosure of design specifications to the general public as well as to the RTI applicant would directly affect the safety and security of the metro.

A bracket of the metro pillar collapsed at Zamrudpur killing six people and injuring more than 15 people in July last year.

[karira]

Sponsorer

Merged the two threads

[karira]

As reported by Harish V Nair in hindustantimes.com on 24 December 2010:
HC to DMRC: Disclose crashed pillar

HC to DMRC: Disclose crashed pillar’s design

The Delhi high court on Friday directed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to disclose the design of an under-construction pillar at Zamrudpur in south Delhi that collapsed last year, killing six people. The court issued the order while dismissing the DMRC's appeal against a Central Information Commission (CIC) order of March 18, 2010, asking it to reveal the design to architect Sudhir Vohra under the RTI Act.

"The details of the design are already on the internet and, therefore, in the public domain. In the circumstances, the disclosure of such design can hardly be said to prejudicially affect the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the DMRC (as claimed by it). Consequently, this court finds no ground having been made out by the DMRC for interfering with the impugned order passed by the CIC", said Justice S Muralidhar.

Vohra had sought all details of the design and structure for academic purpose (for his study and analysis of the failed design). The court also rejected the arguments of the DMRC that the design cannot be shared as it comes under its intellectual property rights.

The DMRC also contended it had been approached by various countries to provide them consultancy services as well as to set out the design parameters or standards with respect to the implementation or development of the Metro rail projects. According to the DMRC, any disclosure of the structural design would cause it commercial loss.

[karira]

The full judgment of the Delhi HC is attached to this post.

[karira]

As reported by Sumit Saxena in hindustantimes.com on 14 May 2011:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Collap...e1-697237.aspx

Collapsed Metro pillar’s design not cleared

he architectural design of the Metro pillar that collapsed at Zamrudpur in July 2009, killing seven people on the spot, had not been cleared by the DMRC’s design section. In an RTI reply, DMRC, throwing the blame on Gammon (the private contracter which constructed the pillar), said, “The correctnes
s of the designs is of the contractor,” and it is not the Rail Corporation’s responsibility if the design goes wrong.
An RTI activist Atul Gulati, who had filed the application, speaking to HT, said, “How could DMRC raise constructions without approving the design by its own committee? How could they just believe that what a private contractor doing is right? Seven innocent labourers were killed and it has not shaken the rail corporation. It shows the high-headedness of the DMRC.”

Gulati, in his RTI, asked the DMRC to furnish the name and designation of the official of the DMRC who was authorized to approve the design and drawing of piers 67 & 68 and pier cap P-67 on the Badarpur Line.

The DMRC said, “The design section headed by construction engineer Rajan Kataria (along with his deputies) were authorised to give a no objection certificate for executing the works since the overall responsibility of the correctness of the designs is of the contractor since it was a design and build contract”.

On July 12, 2009, the cantilevered bracket of Metro’s pillar number 67 on the Central Secretariat-Badarpur Line had collapsed in Zamrudpur in South Delhi.

Gammon India Ltd, the contractor for the project of Central Secretariat-Badarpur line was blacklisted by the DMRC in November 2010 for two years.