Bureaucratic hurdles have prevented the take-off of the Rs.6728-crore Light Metro proposed for the cities of Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode before the approval of the Centre as done in other States, State Planning Board Member and ‘Metroman’ E. Sreedharan has said.
“The politicians wanted to commence the MRTS before getting the approval from the Centre as Kochi Metro is in full swing. But, the bureaucrats had stopped them”, Mr. Sreedharan, who is also the Principal Adviser, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), told The Hindu here.
The Metros in Lucknow, Chennai and Bangalore were kicked off without the Centre’s approval to prevent cost escalation and lessen the misery of the people, he pointed out in reply to a query.
The State has lost one year and the DMRC has now been awarded the Rs.5.28-crore interim consultancy for the preparatory works. The 21.82-km Technocity-Karamana stretch, estimated to cost Rs.4,219 crore, will need five years while the 13.30-km Meenchanda-Kozhikode Medical College stretch, estimated at Rs.2,509 crore, four years for completion.
Mr. Sreedharan said the DMRC is now trying to make up the lost one year by persuading the government to commence the works of flyovers and subway in the capital. The flyovers had been proposed at Sreekaryam, Ulloor and Thampanoor junctions and subway at Pattom.
Kochi example
“The DMRC will execute the flyovers and subway works and this will absorb the lost one year,” Mr. Sreedharan said pointing out the timely completion of Pachalam ROB for the Kochi Metro and payment of Rs.13.2 crore back to the State government by DMRC.
The commencement of the works of North Overbridge, MG Road and Banerjee Road before getting the Centre’s approval turned out to be a big advantage for Kochi Metro and to make up the lost days. “We want a matching performance from the government in the case of Light Metro,” he said spelling out the plans.
Mr. Sreedharan, who is in charge of Transportation in the Planning Board, said only minimum land will be acquired and the public should cooperate for making the MRTS a reality. “We will make parting of land less unpleasant and ensure proper rehabilitation and better price,” he said.
Says the State has lost one year
‘Only minimum land will be acquired’
