With the State government putting the project on the back burner, Kozhikode is unlikely to get a Light Metro in the near future.
Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation Limited, a State government agency, was expected to take a decision on the the ₹2,500-crore project at its meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. But the meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, failed to take up the project for various reasons.
The project has been hanging in the balance ever since a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was submitted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) as per the new metro policy of the Centre in December 2017. Then it was reported that the State Finance Department failed to secure the mandatory clearance from the Public Investment Board of the Union Ministry of Finance for the project as funds are required from the Centre.
Now, sources say, the revised DPR including that of the Light Metro project for Thiruvananthapuram would also have to secure the approval of the State Cabinet. An additional burden of ₹275 crore has been estimated in the revised DPR for the Kozhikode project.
According to the proposal, the fully elevated Light Metro, covering a distance of 13.33 km from Meenchanda to Kozhikode Medical College, will have 14 stations at Medical College, Chevayur, Thondayad, Kottooli, New Bus Stand, KSRTC station, Mananchira, Palayam, Railway Station, Pushpa Junction, Kallayi, Panniyankara, Vattakinar, and Meenchanda.
A survey has already been conducted for the construction of metro stations. The land required for the project is 10.05 hectares, which include 1.5 hectares in private possession.
However, at present, only a rail over-bridge has been constructed, at the cost of ₹40-crore, for the Light Metro project. Incidentally the alignment of the ROB was modified to suit the project. Had the project been started on time, the Light Metro would have been a reality in 2021.
The project has been hitting a bad patch ever since the government explored the possibility of devising either a mass transit rapid system or light rail transport system for Kozhikode city and its suburbs nine years ago.
The original proposal was to link Calicut International Airport to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. But it was replaced by the Kozhikode Monorail in 2012. Finally the Light Metro was proposed in 2015. Two years ago, the DMRC closed its office in Kozhikode and also quit from the project in the State as well.
