In a bid to get the Centre’s nod for the Light Metro proposed for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, accompanied by Principal Adviser, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, E. Sreedharan will meet Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu next week.
Mr. Chandy and Mr. Sreedharan will call on the Union Minister in Delhi on October 16 to press for the mandatory approval from the Centre to enable the State to kick off the Rs.6,728- crore project, which had already been approved by the Cabinet.
Official sources told The Hindu that the Chief Minister and Mr. Sreedharan would be accompanied by the Secretary, Public Works.
The meeting is against the backdrop of the official letter given by the State on September 11 to the Ministry seeking in-principle sanction for the implementation of the Light Metro project in the two cities and confirmation of the participation of the Centre in the MRTS and the equity contribution of 20 per cent.
The Secretary, Public Works, in his September 11 letter to the Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, has said the preparatory work of the project is being undertaken using the services of the DMRC.
The Public Works Secretary had earlier written to the Ministry on August 12 seeking “approval of the Light Metro project” without the government giving the nod to the DPR submitted by DMRC in October last year.
Following this, Mr. Sreedharan informed the government that the DMRC was closing down its offices as ‘the present assignment had been accomplished.”
The Cabinet cleared the DPR following the talks Mr. Chandy had with Mr. Sreedharan.
