The general consultant for the under-construction Mumbai Metro Line 4 has been terminated after alarming details surfaced in the wake of Saturday’s accident in Mulund that left one person dead and three injured. The incident has drawn attention to serious lapses in oversight, with officials revealing that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had issued over 150 notices to the consultant in the past two and a half years for deficiencies across projects, the largest being Metro 4.
The consultant—a consortium of DB Engineering & Consulting, Hill International and Louis Berger—was responsible for supervising works executed by a consortium of Reliance Infrastructure and Astaldi SPA (RAJV), along with sub-contractor Milan Road Buildtech. Instead of enforcing accountability, the consultant reportedly forwarded notices to contractors but failed to follow up when no response was received. Despite repeated non-compliance, MMRDA continued payments amounting to Rs 380 crore over eight years.
“We issued the consultant more than 150 notices across two and a half years for work on various projects they were overseeing, the largest project being Metro-4. We had also summoned those who headed the India operations of the three companies in the consortium, and flagged the contractor’s shoddy work,” said a senior MMRDA official. “Yet when the accident took place on Saturday, no representative of the general consultant was present,” the official added.
Sources indicated that Milan Road Buildtech was brought in during 2022 due to underperformance by the primary contractor, with MMRDA making direct payments thereafter. An official noted that eight concrete blocks similar to the one that fell were identified. “The cement that should have held this block in place was not cured and the block balanced precariously for 11 hours before it crashed onto the street below. There was no one from the general consultant inspecting the site or else the accident could have been avoided,” the official said.
Following the mishap, MMRDA has begun a comprehensive inspection of the 32.32-km Metro 4 corridor and will extend checks to other under-construction lines, including Mumbai Metro Line 2B, Mumbai Metro Line 9, Mumbai Metro Line 5 and Mumbai Metro Line 6. Three officials have been suspended, a vigilance cell has been formed, and safety audits are underway across sites.
Source: Hindustan Times
