The ruling front and the opposition are heading for a showdown in the Kochi Corporation over the involvement of Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) in Kochi metro rail project.
While the Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany toed the official line of the director board of the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) that the project will be implemented by it with DMRC as its consultant, the LDF-led opposition demanded that the DMRC should be given the responsibility for implementing it.
The director board of the KMRL had earlier unanimously decided that the company should implement the project and the service of the DMRC should be made available in the capacity of a consultant, said Mr. Chammany. The metro project in Bangalore and Chennai are implemented by the respective companies formed in the States. The expertise KMRL can gather through the implementation of Kochi project will also help it take up more infrastructure projects later, said Mr. Chammany who is also a member of the director board.
There is no basis for the allegation that the DMRC is being excluded from the project. The KMRL needs the support of the DMRC in the form of consultant, he said.
Regarding the stand of the Kochi Corporation in the contentious issue, Mr. Chammany said that it will fully endorse the decisions to be taken by the government in the case.
The council is yet to discuss the issue. The Corporation is sure that the State government is committed towards the implementation of the project and Kochi metro will soon become a reality, he said.
LDF stand
Meanwhile, the LDF in the Kochi corporation council is planning to write to the civic administrators stating that DMRC should be made the implementing agency.
The decision to exclude the corporation from the responsibility of implementation must have been taken with ulterior motives, which needs to be opposed, said K.J. Jacob, the CPI (M) leader in the council.
In New Delhi, the private agency which had picked up the implementation contract for the sector near the Parliament Street could not complete it. Eventually, the DMRC had to be brought back for completing the work, he said.
No one knows why the earlier decision for making the DMRC the implementation agency for the Kochi project was changed. The LDF will demand that the task be handed over to them considering their experience and expertise in the sector. The move to bring in other players raises suspicion, he said.
DYFI protest
At the same time, DYFI is in the process of mobilising public support in the issue in favour of the DMRC. The youth organisation has announced a protest meeting on Tuesday at High Court junction at 5 p.m., said N. Anilkumar, district secretary of the organisation.
The attempt to avoid the DMRC from the project is with the aim of making money out of the project. Such a decision taken at this stage will also derail the whole project, said Mr. Anilkumar who is also a councillor of the Kochi corporation.
