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Roll out the metro or we will be ruled out: CM

Are we digging for the metro, or are we digging our own graves - that, in spirit, was the question chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh placed before top officials of MMRDA.

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MMRDA has fallen back on ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan’s proposal and would try to raise money on its own instead of depending on private players

MUMBAI: Are we digging for the metro, or are we digging our own graves - that, in spirit, was the question chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh placed before top officials of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) at his office in Mantralaya on Friday.

 The CM was furious over the inordinate delay in Phase I of the Metro Rail Project, which has not seen “a single pillar laid since its inauguration by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a year and a half ago.”

Even in his previous meeting with MMRDA officials, the CM had clearly told them that citizens were no more content just hearing about the metro rail. “They want to see it happening,” he had said. On Friday, when he iterated this, chief secretary Johny Joseph quipped, “How could the project be visible? It is underground.” Shocking the officials present, Deshmukh thundered back, “If it does not become visible soon, people will not hesitate sending us underground for the next five years.”

Desperate times need desperate measures. Singed by CM’s fury, MMRDA has fallen back on E Sreedharan, the man who made Delhi Metro possible. At a meeting with Deshmukh three weeks ago, Sreedharan suggested that instead of going for the public-private participation (PPP), Mumbai should toe the line taken by Kolkata and Delhi, where metro rail has been a big hit.

The suggestion was discussed at length in Friday’s meeting, and it was decided that MMRDA, instead of banking on the PPP, would try to raise money for the project on its own. “The delays and the other technical complications cropping up because of the participation of private players could be avoided if the PPP system is scrapped,” said MMRDA commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad.

He outlined a plan which would enable the agency to raise funds for all the metro corridors and monorail. “MMRDA has a surplus kitty of Rs11,000 crore. If the state allots an FSI of 4 for government and ULC land, the income from such developments could be utilised to fund the metro rail project,” he said. Land available at Bandra-Kurla Complex (20 hectare), Bandra Government Colony (50 hectare), along with 1700 hectares more spread across the city, could be utilised for raising money, he added.

While the CM seemed inclined to the idea, some of the officials were apprehensive about it. “The government wants to shoulder the responsibility of the entire metro rail project, but does it have the technical expertise to complete it in stipulated time,” asked a key secretary from general administration department.

Principal secretary (CM’s office) Swadhin Kshatriya said that various major decisions about the project would be taken at MMRDA’s next meeting on March 15.

A Reliance spokesperson told DNA, “Work on the Andheri-Versova-Ghatkopar stretch is on schedule. We are absolutely confident that the project would be commissioned ahead of its scheduled completion time of early 2012, as per the concession agreement.”

MMRDA plan to raise funds: The nodal agency suggested that an FSI of 4 be granted for development of government colonies and ULC land in Bandra, Worli, BEST depots and special townships coming up in the MMR. MMRDA would be charging a premium for the additional FSI.

It further suggested that all private layouts above 5 hectares be given FSI of 4 for commercial use. This would enable MMRDA to generate Rs100,000 crore in the next 10 years.

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