The MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) has resumed working on 9 pending metro projects as of April 20. The authorities have undertaken pending metro corridor work only in non-containment zones, however, which is in line with BMC guidelines to keep containment zones locked down to avoid spreading of COVID-19.
Contractors has been asked to start working as long as they receive permission from relevant departments and wards. An unmanned MMRDA official said that “work on Metro Projects will start from today (April 20, Monday). We will follow all the guidelines of social distancing and have already put in place precautionary measures at the sites”.
Additionally, the official mentioned that workers have been provided with masks, gloves, as well as hand sanitizers. As per MMRDA commissioner R A Rajeev, the body will bear the cost of the day-to-day maintenance of around 11,000 labourers while also conducting health check-ups as well as retaining proper hygiene and sanitization.
Given the fact that India has been under lockdown for nearly a month now, authorities predict that most projects will miss their original deadline. The MMRDA will reportedly provide revised deadlines for its projects across Mumbai. Mumbai’s non-containment zones are getting certain relaxations starting today, including for weddings in some cases. The city reached a grim milestone yesterday with the BMC earmarking a total of 721 containment zones in a span of just 20 days as a consequence of the growing number of COVID-19 positive cases.
Meanwhile, MMRCL has also started work on the underground Metro-III project. “We had more than 900 engineers, technicians and staff working on sites, primarily on monsoon-related works,” said MMRCL’s director project S K Gupta.