Rs 8,250-cr project still lacks several clearances - Times of India - 30/10/2011

Rs 8,250-cr project still lacks several clearances

Chittaranjan Tembhekar, TNN Oct 30, 2011, 01.59AM IST

MUMBAI: The deadline for Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) to start work on the Metro-II line, which will run between Charkop and Mankhurd via Bandra, expires on Monday, but MMRDA officials said RInfra would be most likely getting an extension.

Sources said the project has yet to receive over a dozen clearances from various agencies and government departments. For example, the MMRDA has made no headway in getting the plots for the car depot and casting yard at Charkop, which are crucial to starting the construction.

The financial closure for the Rs 8,250-crore project was achieved in March, which means by then all the money needed had been mobilized. Usually, a project has to begin within six months of the financial closure, but RInfra was given an extension in September due to the rains.

The car depot at Charkop was planned on land in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), and if permissions came it would have to be built on stilts. "The land falls in CRZ-I because of mangroves there. MMRDA's application for the clearance was rejected by the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority," said a source. An MMRDA official said, "We have identified another plot belonging to the government close to the same plot. We are hoping to get this plot, which will be free of CRZ conditions."

The BMC has refused the contractor permission to build commercial spaces in the 27 stations. Sources said the BMC would also be hard-pressed to approve the metro station buildings and yards because there would be too little open space around them to conform to the city's Development Control Regulations.

Permission from the civil aviation department is also pending due to height restrictions near the airport. "Our negotiations are on and we hope to settle the matter soon," said an MMRDA official when speaking of the proposed metro station near Vile Parle.

Similarly, MMRDA is yet to had over the right of way (ROW) for the entire track to RInfra.

The MMRDA signed a concession agreement with RInfra in 2009 for building the 32-km Metro-II. The MMRDA will not be a partner in Metro-II, unlike in Metro-I, in which it possesses equity. RInfra will operate Metro-II for a specified number of years before handing it back to MMRDA.

RInfra is presently conducting a geotechnical survey, which was started in 2009, revealed MMRDA sources. When asked when the work would actually start, an MMRDA official refused to specify a date.