Hold joint meetings, solve commuters' woes: HC to BMC, Railway

The Bombay High Court today asked the civic agencies in Mumbai and the Railways to hold regular meetings to solve the problems of local train commuters and directed speedy completion of foot and rail overbridges in the city.

"Remember you are all working for the public and that human life is important," the court said.

Both the Central Railway and the Western Railway should expedite the repair of Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) and Rail Over Bridges (ROBs) across the city, said a bench of justices Naresh Patil and G S Kulkarni.

The issue of dilapidated train infrastructure came to the fore last month when a part of ROB (road bridge across the tracks) collapsed in suburban Andheri, killing two persons.

The court was hearing petitions seeking various directions for improvement of the suburban rail network.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) today said that Railways had asked for Rs 27 crore for repair and maintenance of FOBs and ROBs.

The BMC agreed to the demand but the Railways was yet to submit details of the proposed work, the corporation's lawyer said.

"The Railways will submit the details immediately and you must not delay the release of funds to them. All agencies (including the BMC and city planning body Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) must work together to resolve the woes of commuters," the court said.

"You must also hold regular joint meetings to discuss problems faced by the commuters and the ways by which those can be resolved," the bench said.