KOCHI: The much awaited Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Kudumbasree and Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) to manage and maintain metro stations will be inked here on Sunday in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The responsibilities of Kudumbasree members will include vending tickets, customer relations, housekeeping, parking management, and running of canteens. The Chief Minister, who also holds the metro-rail portfolio, will review the progress of the project, besides Water Metro and related projects, with KMRL and DMRC officials. Minister for Local Self Government Dr. K.T. Jaleel also will be present.
The meeting is expected to review the progress of work on the 25-km Aluva-Pettah metro corridor. It will also discuss the proposed metro extensions to Infopark via Kakkanad and to Thripunithura as well as the Metro City project proposed at Kakkanad to mobilise revenue for the operation and maintenance of the metro. Besides, the meeting will take stock of city improvement projects taken up by KMRL.
Mr. Vijayan will also evaluate the Water Metro project for which as many as 58 modern ferries will be procured to improve water transport in the Greater Kochi region. The meeting will be followed by an interaction with people’s representatives from the project areas on other city improvement projects. Metro sources said there was confusion among residents of some localities regarding the space set apart for locating boat jetties, and that had to be sorted out.
The meeting will also discuss the Operationalisation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARRA) for a hassle-free land acquisition process and legislative approval for the proposed UMTA (Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority).
The proposed UMTA legislation that will bring all public transport vehicles under one umbrella will be placed before the Cabinet once again after corrections and clarifications. KMRL is slated to be the nodal agency for UMTA. Faced with delay in constituting UMTA, the agency has been trying to integrate the metro with bus and water transport under its comprehensive mobility plan.
The demands raised by MLAs to entrust the widening of MG Road-Pullepady-Thammanam-NH Bypass Road and the Vyttila-Kunnara Park Road with KMRL too is expected to be discussed. The PWD has not been able to make any headway in widening the two roads that are perennial bottlenecks.
DMRC Principal Advisor E. Sreedharan; Nalini Netto, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister; KMRL Managing Director Elias George, and District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla will be among those who will attend the meeting, a KMRL press release said.
