Centre will assist state in planning Metro’s second leg - Mumbai Mirror - 21/11/2011

Rahul Gadpale/ mumbai mirror / 21/11/2011

It’s a decision that could cut short your long wait for a comfy ride on the Metro. Frowning over the inordinate delay in implementing the first phase of the Metro project (Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar), the Centre will now put in an equal amount of money as the state, instead of banking on a joint partnership of the public and private sectors, as is presently the case.

Union Minister for Urban Development, Kamal Nath, made this announcement in Delhi on Sunday.

So, pending Metro projects for your bustling metropolis could have a 50:50 funding by the state and central governments.

The first phase of the Metro is a partnership venture of a private company formed between nodal development agency, Mumbai Metropolitan Road Development Agency (MMRDA), and the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Company.

This private company has been claiming that 80 per cent of work is complete. However, the reply to a Right To Information (RTI) query has revealed that only 60 per cent of work has completed so far. The company has been saying that the first line, Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar, will start functioning soon, but the information sought by the RTI shows that this is unlikely.

The bigger problem that emerged is that the company has not been able to plan the second line of the metro, the Charkop-Bandra-mankhurd line. There is much confusion over whether it should be underground or elevated, and it is unclear whether the company has sufficient funds. A senior MMRDA official said, “The second line is very complicated, and seems to have a lot of technical problems.”

Kamal Nath said the main reason there are so many problems with the project is that there are too many private players involved. Thus the central government has decided that the second line will progress like the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation did, with the help of the Centre. It has already instructed the state government to make a Detailed Project Report (DPR).

“The work was supposed to be finished before March 2012, as per the agreement,” said Anil Galgali, who filed the RTI and then filed a complaint with the minister. “However, the work has been delayed and there has been a huge escalation in costs, and the MMRDA has not given any explanation for this.”

The RTI filed shows that the total cost of the project is Rs 2356 crore. MMRDA holds 26 per cent stocks and Reliance holds the rest. The viability gap for the project is about Rs 650 crore, of which the central government will bear Rs 471 crore, and the state government and MMRDA will have to take care of the rest.

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