Chennai Metro damages 212 buildings along the metro route
20 Dec, 2013
An application was filed with the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get the details of the damages caused to buildings during the construction of underground metro line. The applicant also sought to know as to why the CMRL didn't send the vibration monitoring report of the Ripon Buildings and Victoria Public Hall to the municipal corporation despite repeated requests.
The reply from the CMRL stated that during the boring for underground lines, damages were reported from 212 buildings along the metro route in Washermenpet, Mannadi, High Court, Nehru Park , Egmore, May Day Park, Government Estate, Chennai Central and Shenoy Nagar. The reply also said that Arcot Lutheran Church, Tamil Wesley Church and the law college building were some of the important buildings facing damage due to metro works.
Regarding the vibration monitoring report, the Metro Rail Ltd. replied that the reports were meant for internal monitoring and are not to be shared with any other agency or organization. Also, since no damage was reported from Ripon Building and Victoria public hall during tunneling, there was no reason to share the report with the Chennai municipal corporation.
Regarding the repair of the damaged buildings, the CMRL stated that the cost of repairs is met directly by the contractors and that it has no record of the amount spent on the repair of the buildings. This is despite the fact that as per the rules, the responsibility of repairing the structures damaged during tunneling or construction lies with the metro rail limited.