Key issues, including turnkey consultancy, debt funding source and mode of land acquisition, of the elevated Light Metro proposed for the cities of Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode is to come up before the Cabinet this week.
Besides, the administrative sanction for taking up the land acquisition for the 33 Light Metro stations in the two cities, the flyovers at the busy junctions of Sreekariyam, Uloor and Pattom in the capital, technical sanction for construction of flyovers and widening of Kazhakuttam-Uloor corridor of the NH 66 is to be taken.
The Cabinet will also have to decide on whether to go for direct negotiations or to adopt normal land acquisition proceedings. The decision on whether to entrust the work of flyovers to the Public Works Department or Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the interim consultant of light metro project, will also have to be taken.
The decision to expedite the ground work for the Rs. 6,728 crore light metro was taken following the meeting the Principal Advisor, DMRC, E. Sreedharan had with the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan here on August 1.
Mr. Sreedharan, the brain behind the Light Metro, has conveyed to the Chief Minister that the MRTS project can be executed without external borrowings.
The DMRC has finalised and handed over the designs of three flyovers along the proposed 21.82-km Technocity-Karamana elevated light metro corridor in the capital. The Rs. 104 crore flyover at busy Thampanoor has been finalised and is being fined tuned by the DMRC.
As much as 3.37 hectares of land has to be acquired for the four flyovers that will cost the exchequer Rs. 448.88 crore.
The cost of the land acquisition is Rs. 209.1 crore and the cost of the flyovers is Rs. 239.78 crore. As many as 213 buildings, including 92 in Sreekariyam and 50 in Thampanoor, will be affected.
The DMRC has insisted on the flyovers as the Light Metro has to move along the concrete deck which will come up on piles on the road median.
Not possible later
If these works are not taken up before or along with the Light Metro, it will not be possible to take up the work of flyovers later.
The 21.82-km stretch in the capital is estimated to cost Rs.4,219 crore.
The State has to acquire 8.55 hectares of government land and 1.58 hectares private land in Kozhikode for the 13.33 km Light Metro proposed from Medical College to Meenchanda at a cost of Rs. 2,509 crore.
