A Bench led by Justice T S Thakur was hearing a PIL on Thursday, filed by residents of south Delhi colonies against the construction of a 4.5-km elevated stretch from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to Kalkaji.

Asking the GoM to look into the matter, the court, however, gently asked it to try and accommodate the residents’ plea for an underground stretch in “congested colonies” like Lajpat Nagar, Kailash Colony and Greater Kailash. “Keep your views open,” the Bench observed in its written order, even as it told the DMRC not to make it “a prestige issue”.

The court also referred to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s remarks in a letter forwarded to the GoM: “In the long run, it (DMRC) will be fully compensated by the benefits which residents and commuters of the area are going to get.”

The PIL says an elevated track will ruin the skyline besides violating the silent zones.

The Centre submitted that it could not enter into a “commitment” on the residents’ demand, and said it would stand by the decision to construct an elevated corridor.

“The GoM may kindly like to reconsider the matter, so that an underground stretch can be provided in residential areas also,” the court observed, adding that the Centre ought to communicate its decision by January 17, the next date of hearing. On January 2, the court had categorically asked the Centre’s counsel to confirm whether a GoM existed to monitor the DMRC’s work in the Capital.