BHOPAL: Dreams of running Metros in Bhopal and Indore are slowly getting materialised. Yet, to render them into a reality may take a lot of time. Only 5% of the civil construction work has finished in Indore and 25% of it is completed in Bhopal. The target date for finishing the civil construction work was March 31, 2021, which has been extended. Now, the work has to finish by next year. Given the amount of work done so far, there are doubts whether the project is going to be completed even next year.
At a meeting on Thursday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said all the hurdles in the way of the Metro project should be immediately removed to speed up the work.
Dilip Buildcon is doing the civil construction work in Bhopal and Indore. DB Engineering and Consulting from Germany is handling the consulting work related to the Metro projects in both the cities. As the contractors and the consultants are not on good terms, the work is suffering. Pillars are being set up in both the cities. The consultants are angry because they were not shown the columns before they were installed.
They have refused to approve the work. According to the consultants, as the soil in Indore is very hard, they should have been shown the place before the pits had been dug. Because of the dispute, the work is getting delayed.
According to sources, as Dilip Buildcon blamed the consultants for the delay, the issue reached the Chief Minister’s Office and he held a meeting. Dilip Buildcon is known for finishing work in time. Nevertheless, the company’s work is moving at a snail’s pace in its own state. According to sources, although the chief minister was angry at the delay, the work is yet to gain pace. The chief minister has asked the urban development department and the officials of the CM’s secretariat to settle the issue so that the work may speed up.
Warehouse builders made E-in-C
The government made a mistake by appointing an officer of the Warehousing Corporation as engineer-in-chief of the Metro Corporation.
During the BJP rule in 2018, JK Dubey was given charge of engineer-in-chief in the Metro company. He was, however, not shifted in the Congress rule.
Although the BJP has returned to power, there has not been any change in Dubey’s status. He has no experience in dealing with Metro projects.
This is one of the reasons for the delay in the work.
Tender not floated for stations
Along with construction of pillars for the Metro in Indore and Bhopal, tenders for building stations were to be floated to continue both the works together. Although pillars are being built, the tenders for Metro stations are yet to be floated. Without stations, Metros cannot run. Completion of the stations may take two years. So, the chances of running Metros before 2023 look bleak.
