The Bombay High Court on Tuesday ordered a structural audit of a building that has been damaged due to Metro construction. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Monica Matani,a resident of the building. Earlier,the chief engineer of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had filed a report on the same stating that the use of vibro-hammer might have caused damages to the building in suburban Andheri,where the work on Metro phase-II is under way. The court has asked the MMRDA to appoint a structural engineer to conduct the audit and submit an interim report in seven days stating if any immediate repairs should be carried out. The final report will determine if the damages are caused due to the Metro work or due to natural causes since the building is 30 years old. In her petition,Matani alleged that vibro-hammer used for the Metro construction had caused damages to her flat. Later,the Gautam Niwas Society intervened in the case. The MMRDA contended that the society intervened only after realising that Metro authorities had carried out the repair works on her flat as a goodwill gesture. However,the court observed that the authorities would not have offered to carry out repair works unless the damage was caused due to the Metro project. Lawyer for Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd a joint venture between Relinace Infrastructure and MMRDA for Metro construction also expressed his concern and said the petitioner had doubted the intentions of the society. He pointed out that the vibo-hammer was last used in October 2008. We are not staying there. Our lives are not at stake, the Division Bench of Justice F I Rebello and Justice J H Bhatia reminded the lawyers. Prima facie,there is some material, said Justice Rebello. Meanwhile,the Metro authorities have decided to deposit Rs 10 lakh by tomorrow evening with the MMRDA in case some emergency repairs have to be carried out. Their lawyer submitted that if the work on Metro has damaged any building,the repair works will be carried out. Advocate Simran Poorie,who represents the Guatam Niwas Housing Society,said there were cracks on the building. If more cracks are found,the residents will have to evacuate the premises,he added.
