The State Planning Board has given its nod for the Rs.6,728-crore light metro proposed for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode cities by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (DMRC).
Board chairman K.M. Chandrasekhar cleared the 35.12-km project proposed in the two cities to solve traffic and transportation problems.
Official sources told
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Mr. Chandy had pointed out, in a letter to Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu recently, that it was financially unviable and citied the problems faced in other cities where metros where taken up in the PPP mode.
Now, the DPR prepared by the DMRC, and cleared by the board of Kerala Monorail Corporation Ltd. (KMCL) on October 24, will go to the Finance Department for scrutiny of the funding options. After this, it will be placed in the Cabinet for clearance.
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Things started moving swiftly after Principal Adviser E. Sreedharan talked to the Chief Minister on Monday following the inordinate delay in clearing the DPR, sources said.
A three-member committee was set up by the government on Tuesday to “finalise the terms and conditions for implementation of Light Metro on turnkey basis and to negotiate with the DMRC”.
Based on the outcome report after negotiations, the PWD Secretary said the “government will issue orders to entrust work to the DMRC on turnkey basis.”
The board of Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation Ltd. (KRTL) has been convened on February 18, which Mr. Sreedharan is to attend as special invitee. The renaming of the KMCL as KRTL in the wake of the switchover to light metro and holding of the AGM will figure at the meet.