Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) has sought a no-objection certificate (NoC) from the Water Resources Department (WRD) for its Phase II project that runs along waterbodies and waterways in the city.

With the ₹61,843-crore 118.9-km Phase II project picking up pace, the CMRL has sought NoC for construction work at a few important locations such as Porur, Mylapore and Okkiyam Thoraipakkam.

A tunnel in Corridor 3 of the Madhavaram-Sipcot stretch would clash with the pile foundation of Buckingham Canal bridge at Mylapore. CMRL proposes to demolish the culvert close to Thirumayilai MRTS station and then rebuild it later. “We have sought NoC from the WRD for this work. We have to remove the culvert for building a station box close to the area. This is a very old structure. Once the station is opened, we will widen it and rebuild it in a better way a couple of years later,” an official said.

At one of the stations in the Poonamallee-Light House stretch in Porur, the CMRL plans to raise a pillar close to the lake. “Between Kodambakkam and Poonamallee, it will be an elevated stretch. Close to the bund of the Porur lake, a pillar will be raised for the viaduct. Though the waterbody will not be affected, we will still need an approval from the WRD,” he said.

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Similarly, for Okkiyampet station being built as part of the Madhavaram- SIPCOT stretch, a pillar will be constructed close to the tank bund and hence an NoC has been sought for it. The WRD has received proposals to permit CMRL piers inside the waterbody at Okkiyam Maduvu and diversion at Nandanam as the station diaphragm would infringe on the tank bund canal.

In Peerkankaranai station, which would come up as part of Corridor 1 extension, the CMRL proposes to terminate the length of highway ramp at the waterbody’s bund, said officials of the WRD.

“We plan to provide site-specific NoC or enter upon permission with certain conditions after inspection. The project should not affect the water flow and structures must remain above maximum flood water level,” said an official. These were preliminary level NoCs to prepare detailed project report based on WRD permissions. More permissions would be sought at various levels of the project implementation.