Decks have been cleared for the construction of the Joka-Esplanade Metro project with the Victoria Memorial Hall allowing the construction of the Victoria Memorial Metro station and underground tunnelling leading up to the station below the Maidan area. The state government had initially asked Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), implementing agency of the Joka-Esplanade Metro corridor, to drop the Victoria Memorial station in the interest of Metro as well as Victoria Memorial. Later, the state allowed the proposed station in front of Victoria Memorial, subject to NOC from the Victoria Memorial Hall (VMH). The government approved it after Calcutta High Court cleared the 5.6km Mominpore-Esplanade underground segment of the corridor in a PIL relating to restrictions against construction activity within 100 metres of Victoria Memorial’s boundary. The board took the tunnelling impact assessment (vibration study) report from RVNL and sent it to the experts and following the technical observations from the experts, the board has granted a provisional NOC. So, thorough monitoring will have to be done when the actual construction begins.
