MMRDA seeks public advice on Metro-6, activists angry

Almost six months after starting construction work on a Metro corridor that will connect Lokhandwala to Vikhroli in the eastern suburbs, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), on Sunday, issued a public notice urging citizens to come forward with suggestions for the Metro-6 corridor. The authority has also sought advice with regard to the impact of the construction on the environment and society.

However, the development has irked citizens and activists, who have slammed the MMRDA saying that public consultation at this stage, after having started construction work, is nothing but a sham; it is a mere formality for paperwork.

Activists have questioned that if the contract has already been awarded and construction has been taken up then, how would their suggestions or objections make any difference.

Even in the past, some of the citizens had demanded that the particular Metro corridor be constructed underground instead of being constructed over the ground. The construction work on Metro-6 that passes via Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and Powai started in December 2018.

Slamming the development, Zoru Bhathena, an environmental activist, said, " The MMRDA seeking public consultation after they have decided and finalised everything is farce. The government has no concern about the environment. This public notice is a perfect example of how our government works."

Speaking on the public consultation, Dhaval Shah, who resides in Lokhandwala, said, "Classic case of too little too late. This suggestion seeking is a futile exercise. No tree transplantation has been taken up by the authorities; major damage has already been caused. The positioning of the station is faulty. We demand a station on the back road as well."

Powai resident Sonali Mishra said, "I agree that the exercise after construction work has been started looks like mere paperwork, but we will still try to attend the meeting and raise our concerns."

The public consultation meeting being conducted by the MMRDA is scheduled to take place on May 21, 2019.

A public notice issued by MMRDA on Sunday, reads, "The MMRDA has undertaken the implementation of Metro-6 with the approval of the government of Maharashtra. The MMRDA desires to hold public consultation with various stakeholders and the public at large to share the details about the project and obtain their views and suggestion. All persons including NGO's, academicians, stakeholders, etc having interest in this project are invited to attend and participate in the meeting."

When contacted, an MMRDA official said, "We are carrying out the exercise as per the process, and we are open to changes, if any that may arise out of views and suggestions coming out in public consultation."

Meanwhile, recently in a survey conducted on 1,000 Mumbaikars, it was revealed that 70 per cent opined that feedback about infrastructure improvements and investments come too late in the planning stage for their influence to be meaningful.

THEY CALL IT FARCICAL

• Activists have questioned that if the contract has already been awarded and construction has been taken up then, how would their suggestions or objections make any difference  
   
• Activist Zoru Bhathena said the exercise is a perfect example of how our government works 
   
• A recent survey of 1,000 Mumbaikars revealed that in most cases, govt seeks advice very late