The report of a committee that reviewed the feasibility of the Light Metro for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode in the wake of the ‘reworked’ detailed project report (DPR) will come up before the Cabinet soon.
The decision to seek Cabinet approval instead of placing it on the board of Kerala Rapid Transit Limited (KRTL), the special purpose set up to execute the project, is to avoid further delay, it is learnt.
Once the Cabinet gives the nod for the revised DPR submitted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in December 2017 as per revised Metro Policy-2017, it can be forwarded to the Union government for approval.
The committee comprising the Principal Secretaries of Finance, Public Works, Transport, Law, LSGD, and the MD, KRTL, has opined that the State will have to bear ‘additional burden’ above the projected cost as ridership will be less in the initial years in the two cities .
Report with PWD
The report, which is with the Public Works Department, the administrative department for Light Metro, also points out that the State will have to share the repayment cost in a big way as revenue from operations alone will not be enough.
Official sources told The Hindu that although the committee had made a “realistic assessment” of the financial commitment to be incurred by the State, it preferred not to spell out its views on the feasibility of the project.
As per the revised DPR, the cost for laying Light Metro along 35.12 km in the two cities would go up by ₹700 crore from ₹6,728 crore.
The environment friendly aspects of the Light Metro and other benefits for urban commuters had been pointed out by the committee.
The committee looked into the impact of incorporation of parameters such as transit-oriented development plan, value capture finance, and public-private partnership (PPP) cited in the revised and supplementary DPR.
The DMRC, in its report has found that the project is ‘viable and socially justified’ and that it has the needed ridership.
