State alone cannot name Metro chief

State alone cannot name Metro chief
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: While Bangaloreans and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) managing director E Sreedharan himself are keen that he take charge of executing the Bangalore Metro Rail project, the Karnataka government cites technicalities for not appointing him consultant to the project.
Sreedharan, during a visit to the city on Friday, had said DMRC was ready to offer its expertise to Bangalore Metro Rail and work as its consultant. Sreedharan had expressed surprise that DMRC was not the consultant though the corporation had conceived the project for Bangalore, apart from the fact that except for Bangalore, it was consulting for Metro projects all over the country.
Sources told STOI that appointing DMRC as consultant to the Metro project was not in the hands of the state government. “The Bangalore project is a joint venture of the Union and state governments. The board is headed by the secretary of the Union ministry of urban development. The decision has to be taken by the board and a unilateral decision by the state government is not possible,’’ sources said.
Sreedharan had said the appointment of DMRC would hasten Bangalore’s Metro project. “There has been some delay in the Metro project but it’s understandable when a new project begins and issues of land acquisition are involved. If we are in command, we can speed up things on the Metro. We are hopeful the new state government will invite us and appoint us as consultants. The government earlier had told me that DMRC would be appointed although nothing happened after that,’’ he maintained.
TIMES VIEW
It’s not for nothing that E Sreedharan is a muchwanted man. His expertise, as evident in the successful execution of the Delhi Metro Rail project, is sought by many cities which are building similar projects. Strangely, and sadly, Karnataka didn’t think it fit to tap his vast knowledge and experience for Namma Metro in Bangalore. The muchawaited, and desperately needed, mass transport system has been beset by delays and work is proceeding rather slowly. Perhaps, the presence of a person like Sreedharan would have ensured that timelines for the project would have been adhered to and the Metro would be more a running reality than an artist’s impression. Even now, it’s not too late for the government to requisition the services of Sreedharan.