HC asks MCGM to give land to IMD for 2nd Doppler radar

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today asked the Greater Mumbai civic body to hand over a plot of land here to the Indian Meteorological Department by the month end to build another weather station with Doppler radar system. A bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur also asked the IMD to install Doppler radar system after getting the land in suburbs and ensure that it starts functioning as soon as possible. The bench gave its directions to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbail while hearing a public interest plea concerning the heavy rains which had brought Mumbai to a halt in June 2015.

The plea by advocate Atal Bihari Dubey, while detailing the vagaries of monsoon, has sought the court's intervention for mitigating effects of the clement weather on Mumbaikars' lives. While there is one Doppler radar system at Colaba weather station in South Mumbai, a state government panel had recommended for setting up another system in the suburbs. The Doppler radar system monitors weather conditions and issues warnings particularly during monsoons. In his plea, Advocate Dubey said barely one system is not sufficient for the megapolis and there is a need to install another in the suburbs. The IMD had identified three sites to build the weather station to install the system, but the civic body has not yet given it the land.

The high court had in the past come down heavily on the corporation for dragging its feet on the matter and directed the civic body to ensure that all efforts are taken to grant approval for the site. The MCGM and the IMD have already written letters to the Maharashtra government urging that it should waive off the charges needed to be paid for the plot of land procured for installing the Doppler Radar system in suburban Mumbai. The state government is yet to take a decision on the issue.