Bangalore Metro work deferred till August

Bangalore Metro work deferred till August

Deccan Herald

Though actual construction work has been been postponed, BMRTL has finalised the land acquisition deal with the Ministry of Defence.

Construction work of the proposed Bangalore Metro project has been put off till August. The work, which was scheduled to begin in mid-July has been delayed, as the second round of the Project Investment Board meet was postponed.

The meeting, which was scheduled to be held on June 23, may now be held on July 5 or July 6. However, the Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Limited (BMRTL), responsible for the Bangalore Metro project, still awaits final confirmation of the same.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Managing Director of BMRTL K N Shrivastava said the construction work will be delayed because of other formalities that have to be completed after the PIB approval is approved.


Final deal

Meanwhile, BMRTL has, in principle, finalised the land acquisition deal with the Ministry of Defence (MoD). As per the agreement, nearly 102 acres of defence land has been acquired for the metro project at the cost of Rs 1.13 crore. This was in lieu of the 57 acres released earlier by the MoU to the BMRTL for the ELRTS project. The agreement was reached following a meeting on June 27 which was attended by the Chairman and Joint Secretary of MoD P K Rastogi, Additional Financial Advisor of MoD Dipali Khanna and Mr Shrivastava.

The defence areas acquired include 100 acres of Peenya Plantation and half an acre each of army land on Old Madras Road, Army-based workshop on SV Road and inside Maneckshaw Grounds.

“The MoD has agreed to part with their land to meet the requirement of the Bangalore Metro. However, the Defence Minister’s approval is awaited. The formalities are now being dealt with,” revealed Shrivastava.

SIDDARAMAIAH’S STAND

‘Metro rail most needed’


Declaring that ‘Metro Rail is a must, most needed and must be done’, Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday gave further weight to his differences with JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda.

Participating in the Kempegowda Day celebrations, Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, called on the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to explore means to make financial contributions to the Metro Rail project.