The Union government has asked the State to submit a comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode so that the request to allot 20 per cent of the total cost of Rs.5,581 crore of the monorail project may be considered.
“The CMP, with due weightage for monorail, an elevated Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), is a must for considering the request for 20 per cent grant of the total cost,” official sources having access to the communication from the Union Government told The Hindu .
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the general consultant for the project being executed by Kerala Monorail Corporation Ltd. (KMCL), had proposed the State would bear another 20 per cent of the cost. The remaining 60 per cent had to be managed through domestic financial burrowing.
The DMRC had revised the detailed project report (DPR) by including ‘first and last mile connectivity’ in the two cities as directed by the Union Ministry of Urban Development. But, the State had been told to submit the CMP to the Ministry for considering the request for grant.
The State had been told that the mobility plan should have schemes for integrating road and rail modes of transport in the two cites. The preparation of the CMP assumed significance as the date for submitting the global tenders to select the exclusive developer-contractor ends on May 31.
Official sources said the city Corporations of the Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode had to prepare the CMP. “Letters had already been given by KMCL to the two civic bodies. But, there has been no reply,” sources said. Once the CMPs were prepared, these would need to be ratified by the councils.
The 22.2-km monorail would be from Technocity to Karamana in the capital. In Kozhikode, the 14.2-km rail would be from the Government Medical College to Meenchanda. The project, scheduled for commencement in February, was already delayed.
