With the State and Central governments stating that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) would be the implementing agency for the Kochi Metro Rail Project, the stage is set for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the agency and the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL).
Both the Union Surface Transport Minister Kamal Nath and the Minister for Transport Aryadan Mohammed had reiterated that the DMRC would implement the project.
Sources in the KMRL said that the agenda of Tuesday’s meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram was to take note of last week’s Central approval for the project and review the progress of ongoing preparatory works. It also discussed the reason for the delay in the State government issuing an order demarcating the work between the two agencies and handing over the project to the DMRC.
The delay was attributed to the Union Cabinet’s delay in granting its nod for the project. A committee would review the terms and conditions of the project.
Controversy
Referring to the controversy over which of the two agencies was to implement the project, the sources said that it had been decided in March to hand over the works to the DMRC.
A project monitoring committee will be set up comprising the Ministers of departments that have a stake in the project, the secretaries concerned, the Ernakulam District Collector, and Kochi Mayor.
Referring to the role of the Principal Advisor to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), E. Sreedharan in the project, a DMRC official said that he will have a major stake in all stages of decision-making. “He can take decisions on projects from Kerala, except on a few technical aspects. The metro line will be standard gauge, like for the Delhi Airport line. The KMRL will be the coordinating agency for the project.”
The State government has already vested Mr Sreedharan with responsibilities relating to the Kochi metro and Kozhikode mono rail, the high-speed rail corridor and bringing about a qualitative improvement in the road network.
