Mumbai Metro Line 7A Faces Height Clearance Hurdle As MMRDA Holds SYSTRA Consultant Responsible For OHE Design Lapse

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has held its external general consultant responsible for failing to adequately account for the additional height required for the overhead electrification (OHE) system while designing the Metro Line 7A airport corridor.

The issue has surfaced as the authority awaits a final technical report from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on the applicable height clearances for the airport-bound metro alignment and whether any modifications will be required.

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According to MMRDA, the SYSTRA-CEG-SMCIPL consortium, appointed as the General Consultant/Engineer for contract administration, was responsible for coordinating the design and statutory requirements, including restrictions related to aviation height.

“The additional height required for the OHE system was not adequately highlighted and factored in by the Consultant at the appropriate stage of design and planning,” said Basavaraj M B, Director, Metro Project, MMRDA.

MMRDA said it is currently pursuing the matter with AAI and is awaiting its final technical report and confirmation regarding the permissible height clearances.

“Upon receipt of AAI’s final report, MMRDA will undertake a comprehensive technical assessment and take further course of action,” Basavaraj said.

Metro Line 7A is a 3.4-km extension of the operational Metro Line 7, connecting Andheri East with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The corridor is being constructed partly underground and partly on an elevated alignment, broadly running parallel to the Western Express Highway and Sahar Elevated Road.

The airport connectivity project has already crossed several major construction milestones. In January this year, MMRDA completed the diversion of a 2,400-mm Upper Vaitarna water pipeline, an important utility-shifting operation along the alignment.

The project had also achieved its final tunnel breakthrough on the underground section between Andheri East and the airport in July last year. TBM Dhruv completed the upline tunnel drive of around 1.65 km, after beginning excavation in November 2023. Earlier, TBM Disha had achieved the first tunnel breakthrough in April 2025.

The latest development assumes significance as the SYSTRA-led consultant had itself raised serious allegations against MMRDA officials in 2024.

In a letter dated November 12, 2024, the French Embassy had written to Maharashtra's Resident Commissioner in Delhi, seeking that the matter be examined in depth and resolved. The letter referred to complaints made by SYSTRA regarding alleged “severe harassment/challenges” faced while working as a general consultant on MMRDA projects.

SYSTRA had alleged that some MMRDA officials sought “undue favours” in the form of monetary benefits and claimed that it had refused to comply. The company also alleged delays in payments, pressure to recommend inflated variation orders for contractors, delays in approvals for key personnel and arbitrary penalties.

The allegations were also raised before the Bombay High Court after MMRDA discontinued SYSTRA MVA Consulting (India) Pvt Ltd's services in January 2025.

SYSTRA had been appointed in 2021 as the general consultant for design, procurement assistance, construction management and supervision of three Mumbai Metro routes — Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan, Andheri-CSIA and Mira-Bhayander. The original contract, which was to expire in November 2024, had subsequently been extended until December 2026.

However, on January 3, 2025, MMRDA issued a notice discontinuing the consultant's services, following which SYSTRA approached the High Court.

A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Arif Doctor observed that MMRDA had not assigned reasons for discontinuing the services despite the contract having been extended up to December 2026.

“We find that the action of the MMRDA in discontinuation of the terms of the contract, which was extended up to December 2026, without assigning any reasons, is arbitrary, unfair and unreasonable,” the High Court said.

“The general conditions of the contract cannot be read to mean that the MMRDA has a license to act unfairly, arbitrarily or unreasonably in the contractual field without assigning reasons,” the court had observed the then reportedly.

SYSTRA's consultancy portfolio with MMRDA had covered several metro projects, including Metro Lines 5, 6, 7A and 9, besides detailed design consultancy for Metro Lines 2A and 7, Mandale and Kasheli depots and branding guidelines for MMRDA's metro network.

The present height-clearance issue, however, is subject to the AAI's final technical assessment, after which MMRDA will decide the corrective measures, if any, required for Metro 7A.

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