Erection of concrete blocks between piers for Metro work at the Chingrighata crossing has to be completed before February 15, a division bench of the high court directed the state on Tuesday.
The bench, comprising Justice Sujoy Paul, the acting chief justice, and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, instructed the state government to inform "on or before" January 6 when the traffic block "for two consecutive weekend night traffic" will be given to the Rail Vikas Nigan Limited (RVNL) to complete the work.
"...We deem it proper to direct the state government/traffic police to decide two consecutive weekend night traffic blockade dates...before 15.02.2026. The state shall communicate that decision regarding identifying those two consecutive weekend night traffic blockade dates to the RVNL and Metro rail on or before 06.01.2026," the order said.
The RVNL is the implementing agency for the upcoming New Garia-Airport Metro corridor (Orange Line), which includes Chingrighata. A 366m gap in the viaduct at Chingrighata is the most vital missing link in the corridor, which is now functional between New Garia and Beleghata.
The order came over a PIL seeking the speeding up of the construction of the Orange Line.
The RVNL has been seeking a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for traffic blocks at night around Chingrighata on EM Bypass since November to launch concrete blocks between piers 317, 318, and 319 for bridging the 366-metre gap.
Advocate general, Kishore Datta, while pointing out the traffic surge during the year-end festivities and the ensuing Ganga Sagar Mela, said only experts can decide when an NOC can be granted.
"For which period NOC can be granted is within the domain of experts. The court cannot sit in appeal and decide the dates," Datta said.
"There is no illegality, irrationality, or impropriety involved in the decision of the police authorities, and therefore, no interference is warranted," he said.
Datta argued that "no element of public interest" is involved in the case.
The bench, in its order, insisted that the matter was "clearly in the realm of public interest."
Needless to emphasise that if a project is sanctioned, it requires a huge amount of money. With the delay of the project, not only are people deprived of the benefit arising out of such a project, but the cost gets escalated, which is ultimately a burden on the state exchequer, the order stated.
Since September, when Calcutta Police conducted a trial run of a traffic block at Chingrighata for the Metro, the RVNL has been seeking final dates from the police for the pending work of launching the girders.
Earlier this month, when the agency moved the court seeking final dates for the traffic block, the state argued that there were multiple challenges in offering one on the busy corridor.
A week ago, delegates from several state government departments and agencies, such as the Kolkata Police, gathered with their counterparts from Metro Railway and RVNL to establish a consensus. The meeting, which was held at the direction of the high court, was ultimately inconclusive.
"Our concern is Christmas and New Year celebrations, when multiple traffic regulations have to be worked out. Pilgrims for the Ganga Sagar Mela will start arriving after this," said a senior police officer.
"Our officers will meet to discuss the challenges ahead and discuss a time that will be feasible for the night traffic blocks. But let us go through the formal order first," said the officer.