2 min readMumbaiMar 26, 2026 08:26 PM ISTA senior official from the BMC's A ward office said that the suspension came into effect on March 25, after the central pest control agency was intimated about the lapse. (File Photo)The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has suspended a junior engineer from the pest control department for a period of three days, for failing to prevent drilling by a private water supplier near Metro Cinema in Marine Lines, that had led to damage of a Metro 3 tunnel on March 5.The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) had file an FIR at the Azad Maidan police station on March 13.Confirming the developments, a senior official from the BMC’s A ward office said that the suspension came into effect on March 25, after the central pest control agency was intimated about the lapse.“The responsibility of issuing permissions for digging of utilities like borewell lies in the hands of the pest control official at the ward level. Since the official concerned at the A ward failed to prevent the unauthorised digging which damaged the Metro tunnel, the concerned junior officer has been suspended for a three day period. On March 25, the head of the central pest department was informed about the oversight after which the suspension came into effect,” said the official.The MMRCL mandate that construction activity 50 meters around the Metro line 3 corridor can only be executed after an NOC from the MMRCL.In the aftermath of the incident, the MMRCL filed an FIR as well as reissued their routine notice that construction activity in the 50 meter influence zone along the Metro lines alignment is not permitted without an NOC.Until December 2025, 226 such approval NOCs have been given by the MMRCL. These permissions have ranged from installing hoardings, bore holes for soil investigation, concretising of roads, constructing aspirational toilet blocks, drains, flyovers and even an anode bed – used to prevent corrosion of underground structures – around the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdAdvertisementLoading Recommendations...