Metro on track, end to gauge row in a week

Metro on track, end to gauge row in a week
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Limited (BMRTL) is all set to start ground work for Metro Rail project from next month and is awaiting the Public Investment Board (PIB) nod. With the Defence Ministry clearing the transfer of 102 acres of its land, the project only requires PIB clearance.

The PIB meeting scheduled on June 15 at New Delhi is likely to clear the project and also end controversy over Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Limited (BMRTL) plans to have standard gauge track.

‘‘I am quite confident of the PIB clearance and its approval for standard gauge,’’ BMRTL Managing Director M.K. Srivastsava told this website’s newspaper on Thursday.

Of the 102 acres of the defence land, 100 acres is of Indian Air Force (IAF) and two acres of Army land in different parts of the city. Defence Ministry had given 57 acres of land for ELRTS project in 1997. The Government had dropped ELRTS plans and opted for the Metro. ‘‘We have returned that 57 acres of the land as alignment for metro is different from that of ELRTS,’’ he said.

After PIB nod, it just requires Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) clearance, which is just a formality as all subjects will be discussed at PIB.

The BMRTL had made all preparations and had even invited tenders for around Rs 6000 crore project and got good response, from both domestic and international firms.

The seven km, first stage of the project from cricket stadium on Cubbon Road to Byappanhalli will be completed by October 2008, the officer added.

Partly underground, partly elevated and partly surface metro rail will have two corridors. The 23 km North-South corridor will connect Peenya to JP Nagar and 17 km East-West corridor will link West of Chord Road to Byappanhalli.

Experts suggest that the metro is the only answer to chaotic traffic on city roads and a study done by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) too had stated it will reduce number of accidents by around 30 percent and cut environmental pollution to a great extent.