Metro rail project likely to be sidetracked Sindhia toes Deve Gowda's line, prefers mono rail

Vijay Times, Nov 12, 2005

B D Narayankar

Bangalore: Finance Minister P G R Sindhia s going on record claiming his rights to review the pros and cons of metro rail project including expenditure involved has created a storm in political circles as they suspect that Karnataka would deliberately play up the feasibility factor and communicate the project’s negative aspects to the Central government’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). Sindhia had said yesterday at a function that after reviewing the feasibility of metro project, the State government would submit its views on the issue to the Centre soon. According to secretariat sources, Sindhia would go all out to toe former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s line. In the recent past, Gowda had appealed in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that mono rail was a better option than metro rail. Sources said that the letter had made a considerable dent in the CCEA circles as it was in all likelihood considering Gowda’s option for mono rail. They also feared that the Centre’s plan to constitute a special committee to ascertain the best available technology would further delay the project. In fact, the construction work for the project was scheduled to start in March this year . Even if construction work begins at this point of time, the first stretch of the project could be completed only by the year 2010, sources contended. Cost overruns in the project were already to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore with increase from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 6,200 crore. These hurdles apart, there is a tussle between Railways and Karnataka. While Railways preferred to lay broad gauge for the proposed project, the metro authorities were craving for standard gauge, sources revealed. Similarly , sources said, the legal framework for metro project was not clear . Railways wanted to retain control over the project, while Karnataka wants it to be governed by its law . Experts say metro rail had a capacity to carry 45,000-50,000 passengers per hour , against mono rail s 10,000-12,000 passengers per hour . The project had been discussed by the Public Investment Board.