The Maharashtra government’s decision to ask the Army to build a new foot overbridge at the Elphinstone Road train station has landed the government and the armed forces in a spot of controversy with the opposition Congress decrying the move.

The move by the Devendra Fadnavis government comes a month after 23 people died in the stampede on the crowded foot overbridge. Fadnavis visited the station on Tuesday with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, and announced that the army will build the bridge by January 31.  Two other local stations will also get new foot overbridges. Sitharaman said the high casualties at Elphinstone were the reason for deploying Army engineers.

Fadnavis conceded that this was possibly the first time that the Army was asked to do civil work but cited the deaths at Elphinstone Road station as a major reason for taking the help of the men in green.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and several other leaders said the Army should not be doing civilian work unless there is an emergency, like when a bridge collapsed ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010.

An NDTV report noted that the Army was also called in to help the Art of Living event in Noida that was controversial for environmental reasons. Mumbai Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam tweeted if the government or the civic body will ask the Army to fill potholes next.