The high court on Thursday directed the state government and the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) to mutually decide on when the Metro work at Chingrighata on EM Bypass can begin after resolving differences.
Police have allegedly been sitting over a clearance for traffic blocks at Chingrighata — needed to lift concrete blocks to bridge a 366m gap in the Metro viaduct — promised in the second and third weeks of November following a high court prod.
The gap is the key missing link in the upcoming New Garia-airport Metro corridor or the Orange Line, now functional between New Garia and Beleghata. Construction at the Chingrighata site has been stalled for almost a year.
On Thursday, a division bench comprising Justice Sujoy Paul, the acting chief justice, and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, directed advocate general Kishore Datta to submit names for a fresh meeting between state and railway officials. "If a meeting is organised this time around, I will be present," Datta told the bench.
"The bench asked him to submit on Friday a list of state officials who would participate in the meeting. The bench said it would then decide the meeting's date," said Pradyumna Sinha, counsel for the petitioner.
Datta argued that Chingrighata was one of the most crucial intersections on EM Bypass, and a traffic block could pose multiple challenges. The Bypass was also the city's hospital corridor with many on either side, and a traffic block could impede ambulance movement, he argued.
"The pressure of vehicles on EM Bypass will not get reduced unless Covid makes a comeback. Discuss the issue with an open mind, and a solution will emerge," acting Chief Justice Paul told the advocate general.
The counsel for the petitioner and the RVNL, the implementing agency of the Orange Line, pointed out that multiple government agencies were part of a meeting with railway officials in September, where a consensus was reached that the no-objection certificate for the traffic blocks would be given.
"The police had even conducted a trial run for the blocks, which were promised in the second and third weekends of November. But the permission never came," said Sinha.
The state contended that multiple issues were under consideration before offering a NOC for a traffic block. Unless a subway is constructed at the Chingrighata crossing, pedestrians would face problems, Datta said.
Senior officers said a three-way underpass at the Chingrighata intersection, with openings at Jal Vayu Vihar, Canal South Road, and Sukantaagar, has been proposed to facilitate pedestrian crossover. But that has not been built yet.
Metro Railway had earlier said that trains would not stop at the upcoming Gour Kishore Ghosh (Chingrighata) station of the Orange Line between New Garia and the airport until a subway is built for pedestrian movement.
Senior police officers at Lalbazar, Kolkata Police headquarters, said a traffic block around Chingrighata at night may seem just a closure for a few hours, but its impact will be huge.
A railway official who requested anonymity said: "Earlier discussions took place following a high court prod. All these issues were discussed. A consensus was reached. The minutes of the meeting are recorded."