Paving way for construction of Metro Rail work near Ambazari embankment, Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Limited (NMRCL) to bear the cost of strengthening of 342 mt earthen dam and State Government to pay for strengthening of remaining portion of 952 mt dam.
The safety of the dam has been compromised due to constructions carried out in last several decades and hence the High Court directed Dam Safety Organisation or Water Resources Department to prepare a plan for protection and strengthening of 145 year old earthen dam by April 15 and directed all stakeholders to bear the expenditure.
The High Court after taking note of various permissions obtained by NMRCL including one by Dam Safety Organisation held that there was no threat to safety of Ambazari dam due to ongoing construction of Metro Rail. However, the High Court pulled the NMRCL for starting its construction before obtaining final nod from Dam Safety Organisation, but made it clear that project work can not be stopped at this stage.
NMRCL has repeatedly claimed that its work of digging pits and elevated corridor near Ambazari Hill, does not in any way endanger the dam.
A division bench consisting of Justice Bhushan Gavai and Justice Murlidhar Giratkar also pulled up the planning authority including Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) for permitting various constructions including memorial and (Swami Vivekanand) statue within prohibited zone and permitted the State Government to recover the cost of strengthening of Ambazari dam from NMC and NIT.
The High Court was hearing a PIL filed by Mohd Shahid Sharif challenging the ongoing work of Metro Rail apprehending irreparable damage to embankment and earthen dam. The PIL claimed that it poses a threat to lake and nearby Nag River and claimed that without obtaining any permission from Dam Safety Institute and prior nod of State Government the work was started by NMRCL. According to petition, no construction is permitted within 200 mts of any dam and hence ongoing work near Ambazari is in contravention of norms and must not be allowed without adequate security measures in place.
Since Ambazari embankment was created using earthen soil, heavy construction activities would pose a danger to its safety, the public interest litigation (PIL) claimed while making it clear that he was not against Metro Rail work.
The NMRCL in its affidavit claimed that requisite safety certificates were obtained and a team of DSO had visited Ambazari embankment work in April, 2016 and gave conditional clearance. The site was handed over by NMC to NMRCL for execution of Metro work and safety measures suggested by him were implemented so also changes suggested by VNIT experts. Recently, Heritage Conservation Panel had also accorded its nod to work with certain riders.
Also read : NIT (Nagpur Improvement Trust) budget to be presented on Mar 23
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