Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) has got a new chief. The State government on Monday appointed IAS officer Ajay Seth as managing director of the BMRCL, replacing Mahendra Jain.
Mr. Seth will continue to hold his existing position as Additional Chief Secretary of Health and Family Welfare as a concurrent charge.
Last December, the government appointed Mr. Jain, Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development, as MD of BMRCL. On leaving office, Mr Jain said: “It was a privilege and an honour to have gotten this opportunity, however brief, to serve the people of Bengaluru in Namma Metro. My successor is a fine officer and I have no doubt in my mind that he will do an even better job in taking forward the work started by my worthy predecessors.”
During Mr. Jain’s tenure, the BMRCL started the much-anticipated operation of the six-coach train, in which the first coach is reserved for women. He also took the decision of the reserving the first two entry gates of three-coach trains for women.
“Some small things I tried to achieve during my short tenure ranged from floating tenders for the Outer Ring Road line and for Silk Board Junction improvement work, signing a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank for €500 million, and persuading AERA to permit development charge at least upon completion of metro project linking the Kempegowda International Airport,” he said.