Metro Phase-IV work may not start before six months
Dipak K Dash | TNN | Updated: Jan 22, 2019, 00:40 IST
Representative imageNEW DELHI: Starting the construction of Delhi Metro Phase-IV will take at least six months, Union housing and urban affairs ministry officials said on Monday, blaming it on fresh hurdles put up by Delhi government.
The next phase of expansion has already been delayed by more than two years, primarily on account of the ongoing tussle between the Centre and Delhi government over the sharing of the project cost or operational losses.
Sources said after Delhi government sent its revised proposal saying it would not bear equal sharing of operational losses that the new line might incur and that the city government wouldn’t bear any liability of the loan to be taken from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the ministry has forwarded the proposal for third party appraisal by Institute for Urban Transport (IUT).
“Once the process is completed, we will circulate the proposal for inter-ministerial consultation. Subsequently, a proposal will be moved for getting approval from the Public Investment Board (PIB) as the government has to put its equity. Then it will require cabinet approval to start work. It’s a long process,” said a ministry official.
He claimed while the Centre was “doing everything possible” to expedite the project, Delhi government has been proposing some condition or other to “derail” the transport project, which is crucial to decongest the national capital. However, PTI quoted a city government official as saying that they cleared the project and “any delay that is now happening is from the Centre’s side”.
A Delhi government spokesperson said, “The Phase-IV project was cleared in December and we had made conditions quite clear. We will respond further as and when we receive any communication from the Centre.”
Though the ministry officials said they were examining the conditions forwarded by Delhi government, they pointed out that giving any different treatment to Delhi Metro project would open the floodgate of other states making similar demands.
They said the two conditions imposed by Delhi government are “contrary to the condition of sanction of the Phase-III of the Delhi Metro wherein operational losses are to be borne by the Delhi government”.
The next phase of expansion has already been delayed by more than two years, primarily on account of the ongoing tussle between the Centre and Delhi government over the sharing of the project cost or operational losses.
Sources said after Delhi government sent its revised proposal saying it would not bear equal sharing of operational losses that the new line might incur and that the city government wouldn’t bear any liability of the loan to be taken from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the ministry has forwarded the proposal for third party appraisal by Institute for Urban Transport (IUT).
“Once the process is completed, we will circulate the proposal for inter-ministerial consultation. Subsequently, a proposal will be moved for getting approval from the Public Investment Board (PIB) as the government has to put its equity. Then it will require cabinet approval to start work. It’s a long process,” said a ministry official.
He claimed while the Centre was “doing everything possible” to expedite the project, Delhi government has been proposing some condition or other to “derail” the transport project, which is crucial to decongest the national capital. However, PTI quoted a city government official as saying that they cleared the project and “any delay that is now happening is from the Centre’s side”.
A Delhi government spokesperson said, “The Phase-IV project was cleared in December and we had made conditions quite clear. We will respond further as and when we receive any communication from the Centre.”
Though the ministry officials said they were examining the conditions forwarded by Delhi government, they pointed out that giving any different treatment to Delhi Metro project would open the floodgate of other states making similar demands.
They said the two conditions imposed by Delhi government are “contrary to the condition of sanction of the Phase-III of the Delhi Metro wherein operational losses are to be borne by the Delhi government”.
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