Govt rushes to resurrect Joka Metro

KOLKATA: After cold-shouldering Metro projects for nearly two years, the state government jumped in with intent on Tuesday with a senior bureaucrat visiting the stalled Joka-BBD Bag Metro site and resolving a number of issues on the spot.
Transport principal secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay trooped down to the under-construction Joka station with representatives of multiple agencies in tow to check out hurdles that have come in the way of the Metro that had been proposed when chief minister Mamata Banerjee was the railway minister in the erstwhile Manmohan Singh government.
After Mamata won the Assembly elections in 2011, the state continued to support Metro projects, including the Joka-BBD Bag alignment. But the state government washed its hands off the projects after Trinamool Congress walked out of UPA and gave up the railway ministry. Calcutta high court recently asked the state government to take an initiative in the projects that will make a huge difference to the commuting public. Bandyopadhyay’s visit to the Joka station follows this directive.
The bureaucrat sorted out inter-departmental differences and made the officials issue necessary clearances. “The state government wants to help Railway Vikas Nigam Ltd, the executing agency of Joka-BBD Bag Metro, in completing the project at the earliest. We will make sure that there is no impediment on our part. Issues will be sorted across the table,” he said.
Joka-BBD Bag Metro has an elevated corridor from Joka to Mominpur and an underground portion from Kidderpore to BBD Bag. While the viaduct from Joka to Taratala is in advanced stage of completion, there has been no construction beyond Taratala, owing to some structures like a Mother Dairy booth, Cocomens, Rehab India.
“Mother Dairy agreed to shift to a preferred location. On the other hand, Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) had issued a Rs 10 lakh default notice but the transport department has cleared the amount. KoPT on Tuesday issued the NoC to the Mother Dairy MD. RVNL can take possession of the land in 15 days,” said
Similarly, a building of NGO Rehab India near Majherhat station was in the way of Majherhat station. The transport department has made a parcel of land available in Taratala depot where the facility will be relocated. KoPT has also given requisite clearances for construction of the station. Now, RVNL will be able
to demolish the building to construct the station.
RVNL’s chief project manager Rajesh Prasad also referred to land hurdle at Joka for the terminus. Bandyopadhyay said they were keeping a close watch on the quasi-judicial imbroglio with the terminus land. With careful handing, the land issue will be resolved. RVNL officials said the depot land is crucial for operations. “It will take about two years from the date of handover of the depot land to begin train services on the elevated corridor,” Prasad said.
The transport secretary also urged RVNL to pursue a dialogue with the ministry of defence. The latter has to permit construction of the Metro tunnel under the Maidan for the project to move ahead. RVNL officials said that while the Manmohan Singh government had issued a cabinet note in favour of handing over the requisite land for the project, the NoC would have to be issued afresh now that a new government under the stewardship of Narendra Modi. Until that happens, the local authority is not even allowing RVNL to conduct a survey of this stretch.
Accompanied by RVNL officials, Bandyopadhyay later inspected the entire route and land for the depot at Joka to identify the obstacles. Hinting at state’s greater participation in the construction of Metro projects across the city, Bandyopadhyay later said he would take similar initiatives for the other alignments soon.