Delay in clearing ROB designs to hit Metro schedule

Nagpur: MahaMetro may be trying its best to complete Nagpur Metro project on time but it is not getting cooperation of other agencies. One example is that of Central Railway (CR), which is yet to clear designs of two railway overbridges (ROBs) of Nagpur Metro even after over six months. The two ROBs are in Gaddigodam and near Anand Talkies.
According to a MahaMetro source, the two ROBs were cleared by CR’s divisional railway manager (DRM), Nagpur, on Friday. Now the designs will go to Mumbai for approval of CR’s chief bridge engineer and principal chief engineer. Then they will be submitted to Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) for approval. This will take another two to three weeks.

CR spokesperson SG Rao said there was no delay in approving the design. “We went into details before clearing the two ROBs. The designs will be cleared in two to three days,” he added.

MahaMetro officials do not buy this claim. “The design needed approval of seven to eight officials. Our officers had to virtually move the file from one desk to another, otherwise it would not have reached DRM’s table even now. It is not our job to facilitate internal movement of files within CR. However, we were forced to do it to prevent further delay,” said an official.

Gaddigodam ROB is a part of reach II — the stretch from Sitabuldi to Automotive Square. The Anand Talkies ROB is located on Reach IV that connects Sitabuldi to Prajapati Nagar.

The hold-up in approving the ROBs is bound to delay Nagpur Metro project. MahaMetro has set a deadline of December 2019 but it is difficult to meet it.

Earlier, Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) and CMRS had taken their own time in clearing commercial operation for Nagpur Metro’s at grade stretch. MahaMetro held the trial run on September 30, 2017. However, it got permission for commercial operations only in April this year. Officials of RDSO and CMRS had cancelled several visits due to various reasons.

This lax attitude of RDSO and CMRS has made it clear the entire Nagpur Metro will not begin commercial operation before mid-2020.