Has Namma Metro’s Ugadi plan been derailed?
Bangalore, Mar 29 (Deccan Chronicle) : With seven days to go before the much-hyped inauguration of the city’s Metro, will Bengaluru not even see a soft opening?
Deccan Chronicle has learnt that unless Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), changes the track structure and dimension with immediate effect, the relevant certification authority will withhold a clearance certificate and throw a spanner in the works.
Government sources said that all hell broke loose Monday night when the Chief Minister realised that BMRCL had failed to get the safety certificate for Namma Metro.
“We wanted the certification from Lucknow-based government agency, Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO). We could have got the certification from a private agency. However, we did not want to take the risk, so we decided to approach RDSO. The RDSO wants a direction from Railway Board to carry out the certification exercise. But, the Railway Board has refused to give direction maintaining that Bangalore Metro failed to adhere to certain procedures and specifications,” sources explained.
A high level officers' meeting was held to discuss whether Namma Metro soft launch could be performed on April 4 or not. On reviewing the difficulties and intricacies involved, no decision was taken.
Another round of meetings would be held under the leadership of the chief minister which would take a final call on the launch, sources said.
“As things stand now, neither soft launch nor commercial launch could be performed on the scheduled date,” sources said. Railway Board insisted that Metro should obtain the three necessary clearances — Approval of Schedule of Dimension, Approval of Track Structure and Publication of Public Rules under Central Metro Act.
“We are facing a big question: Can we afford to change the entire structure after spending thousands of crores? We followed the Delhi Metro structure since the latter was our consultant. The Railway Board has given clearance to Delhi Metro but now objecting to Bangalore Metro's structure itself. This is really intriguing,” sources said.
Karnataka chief secretary, S.V. Ranganath who will be leaving for New Delhi on Tuesday is expected to meet Union urban development secretary, S.K. Lohia, who is the chairman of Bangalore Metro to discuss these issues.
The state government is likely to seek the Union urban development department's help to get necessary clearance for the Bangalore Metro, sources explained.
We need answers
1) What does the BMRCL have to do to get the Metro certification?
2) Who will foot the bill for any major structural change?
3) Is all this just bureaucratic wrangling?
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