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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to install sound-proof barrier systems along all flyovers and arterial roads, falling under its administration, in a bid to curtail noise pollution across the city.
There was no official policy that would mandate the installation of sound-proof systems along the city bridges, however, BMC has been setting up such barriers on several newly constructed bridges — such as Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road (GMLR) flyover, which was inaugurated in August 2021 — over the past few years.
Earlier, a provision was made under the Mumbai Development Plan, which said that all the newly constructed bridges in the city must have sound barriers built on them. However, the same provision has now been amended, stating that a similar kind of retrofitting would be carried out in existing flyovers and arterial bridges.
Civic officials said that sound barriers will be installed on nearly all the 34 elevated flyovers and arterial roads, falling under BMC’s jurisdiction, in a phased manner.
“The objective of the move is to ensure that the residents living in close proximity of these flyovers get rid of vehicular noises. Most of these bridges cut through residential areas, or high-rises have started to come up adjoining these flyovers due to the change in demography. Therefore, barriers will be installed to ensure that the residents get respite from the noises,” said a civic senior official, requesting anonymity.
During a civic House meeting in 2017, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Sandeep Patel had first floated the idea of installing barriers. He had issued a notice of motion for setting up sound barriers along all the city flyovers. Patel wrote in his recent tweet, “Good news. Finally all flyovers in Mumbai will have sound barriers. It took BMC six years to approve my notice of motion, which was given in 2017.”
BMC officials, meanwhile, said that a separate provision for setting up the sound barriers is likely to be kept in the civic budget for the fiscal year 2023-24. According to civic officials, they are carrying out a survey, and the installation cost and maintenance will be chalked out based on that.
“We will identify the locations, and based on the proximity of buildings from the flyovers, a priority list will be created. This list will be followed to set up barriers, and we are trying to complete the whole process within two years,” said the official.
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