Metro Line 4 after Mulund accident: Decision on retaining consultant ‘taken in larger public interest’, says MMRDA

“Given that the project has already achieved nearly 80% physical progress, and that appointing a new general consultant at this stage would require approximately 3–4 months, potentially delaying the project and impacting public convenience, a considered decision has been taken to allow the existing GC to continue — strictly in the larger public interest and subject to stringent, non-negotiable conditions,” MMRDA said in a statement to this newspaper.

The authority also sought to draw a distinction between institutional failure and an on-site error. Claiming termination proceedings had been initiated against the consultant, MMRDA said its detailed inquiry found the incident “not attributable to any systemic failure in design or supervision by the GC, but was linked to an execution-level lapse at site, specifically a welder’s error”, and therefore found “no direct institutional culpability of the GC”.

The slab collapse was triggered after connections securing a parapet wall to the viaduct were accidentally cut by a welder the night before. In the 11 hours that followed, neither the consultant nor MMRDA engineers intervened before the slab fell onto LBS Road. Ramdhani Yadav, 50, who was travelling in a rickshaw, was killed. His relatives Rajkumar Indrajeet Yadav, 45, and Mahendra Pratap Yadav, 52, were critically injured and spent over two months in hospital before being discharged. A fourth person, Deepa Rula, 40, was discharged shortly after the incident. The injured have not yet received any compensation beyond hospital bills and rent paid by the sub-contractor.

In its report to the Bombay High Court, MMRDA put primary blame on the contractor, citing “procedural non-compliance by RAJV and insufficient site supervision by the General Consultant”. Its own engineers were also flagged for inadequate site visits.

Conditions apply

MMRDA further said that the decision to retain the consultant comes with stringent conditions, including a complete replacement of the general consultant’s team, mandatory joint pre-inspection before all critical activities, dedicated supervision during critical works, a permit-to-remove system for all dismantling works, prohibition of verbal instructions, mandatory toolbox talks on safety procedures, and strict adherence to standard operating procedures, especially when working at heights and in live traffic, and a zero-tolerance clause, which would trigger immediate termination in case of any future lapse.

“MMRDA reiterates that there has been no dilution of its zero-tolerance stance on safety. The decision reflects a calibrated approach — ensuring accountability through penalties and corrective measures, while also safeguarding the timely completion of a critical public infrastructure project,” the authority said in its statement.