'Metro II tracks can't pass over SV Road'

[karira]

As reported by Ninad Siddhaye & Ashutosh Shukla in dnaindia.com on 20 November 2009:
'Metro II tracks can't pass over SV Road' - dnaindia.com

'Metro II tracks can't pass over SV Road'

Mumbai: Residents of Juhu and Vile Parle have objected to the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro II passing overhead. They want it to pass underground. And now, they have a reason to hope that the authorities will give in to their demand.

The residents say that it will be impossible for the metro rail to pass over Swami Vivekananda Road from Vile Parle to Santa Cruz. The stretch borders the Juhu airport, and hence there cannot be any installation taller than 13.6 metres, as per the Airports Authority of India (AAI) norms.

Juhu residents Nitin Killawala and Jagdeep Desai, both architects, said that it would be impossible for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to run an elevated metro corridor along SV Road. "We have obtained copies of no-objection certificates (NoCs) issued by the AAI to some of the recently constructed structures on SV Road.

Glancing through them, we found that the AAI has opposed the construction of any structure taller than 13.6 metres," Killawala told DNA.
He added that being an architect he designed some of the buildings on SV Road and knew about the height restriction in the vicinity of the Juhu airport. "When we got hold of the detailed project report (DPR) of the Metro-II, we were shocked to find that the height of the tracks on the elevated corridor was reaching almost 16.5 metre. With metro rakes on the tracks, it will touch 20 metre. Add to it the space that will be required for the overhead high tension wires," Killawala said.

Desai said that through a Right To Information (RTI) petition they came to know that the MMRDA had not obtained, in fact it had not even applied for, an NoC from the AAI. "The MMRDA officials claim that their final alignment is ready. So, how come they still do not have the AAI clearance," Killawala asked.

A senior MMRDA official said that following the residents" demand of a partly underground metro from Juhu to Bandra, the Louis Berger Group (LBG) had been the charge of carrying out a feasibility report. "If any change in the design, or the alignment, has to be made, we will talk about it only after the LBG submits its report. Moreover, the chief minister will be taking the final decision in this regard," he said.

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