Metro MDs transfer irks Centre

Metro MDs transfer irks Centre
By S Praveen Dhaneshkar, DH News Service, Bangalore:
Caught unawares by the sudden transfer of V Madhu, the managing director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) by the new BJP regime on Monday, the Ministry of Urban Development (MUD), New Delhi has dispatched a letter to the State government on Wednesday.


The letter states that any transfer/removal of the managing director of BMRC should be done only after prior consultation with the GoI (Government of India), that holds a 25 per cent stake in the Rs 6,300-crore project.
Sources in the ministry told Deccan Herald from New Delhi that one of the key clauses in the agreement signed between the Centre and the State, talked about having 10 directors on the BMRC board (Five each from GoK and GoI) in the joint venture (JV) urban transport project for Bangalore.

Clause overlooked

“The appointment and removal of the managing director of the BMRC shall be done with prior consultation and approval from the Centre. In this issue, it looks that the State government has overlooked the clause. We have made our stand clear,” added the sources.

The agreement signed on May 11, 2006, when the BMRC was still a State government company, had clearly incorporated conditions for the Centre to have a say in the appointment and transfer of the Namma Metro chief. The agreement, however, has another clause according to which the State government may, under extraordinary circumstances, effect transfer/removal of key officials. But this transfer, being routine, after a change in government, post elections, was not extraordinary, explained the officials. A recent letter in February 2008, from the MUD to the State Urban Development department had sought Mr Madhu’s continuance as chief of the Metro project till its completion in 2011-12 and that key officers involved in the execution of the project should not be transferred/removed.