Even as preparatory work is under way for its second-phase expansion to Kakkanad, the Kochi metro was conspicuous by its absence in the State Budget presented by Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Friday.
However, the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) authorities were not concerned about it as they attributed it to procedural formalities being followed in the presentation of the Budget.
“To my knowledge, it is a normal practice to park funds meant for projects such as the Kochi metro under the head ‘Major Infrastructure Development Projects’. Even last year, it was done so,” said KMRL managing director Loknath Behera while hinting that specific allocation for the project did not mean that it may not receive any funding.
In fact, it was only recently that the State government handed over the long-overdue ₹102 crore to KMRL, helping it resolve land acquisition-related bottlenecks in the second phase extension of the metro from Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium to Infopark. Besides, the 1.20-km metro extension from SN Junction to Thripunithura costing around ₹300 crore is also under way
Mr. Balagopal in his Budget speech mentioned that the practice of allocating funds for major infrastructure projects under a single head of account was being followed to avoid bottlenecks in the timely utilisation of funds for such projects if allocations were made separately under different budget heads. However, the fact that only ₹360 crore has been allocated for major infrastructure projects has raised concerns. This is considering the fact that the 11.20-km second phase metro corridor costs around ₹1,957 crore with only a Central equity of 15%.
Former Mayor K.J. Sohan said with the Central government going tough on the ridership yardstick, the Kakkanad extension might remain a non-starter. “The Union Budget has also not allocated any funds to the Kochi metro, which was launched with a daily ridership claim of 4 lakh but continues to hover in the region of a mere 70,000,” he added.
