RailEnquiry

: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy asserted here on Wednesday that the Kochi Metro Rail Project would be executed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in association with E. Sreedharan in three years.

The Chief Minister said he had held talks with Mr. Sreedharan (former Managing Director of DMRC) that there was no change in the government’s resolve that Mr. Sreedharan would oversee the project. “The DMRC and Mr. Sreedharan are our best bet for timely completion of the project. Steps would be taken to remove any impediments to fast completion of the project.”

Mr. Chandy said he would write to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in view of the confusion caused at the recent meeting of the director board of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, and would meet her, if necessary. He proposed to meet Union Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath early next week in Delhi to sort out the issues.

The Chief Minister said the decision regarding restriction for the DMRC in taking up work outside Delhi, which was mentioned at the director board meeting by its chairman, was only a recent one. The DMRC had started work eight to nine months ago and engineers had been recruited. All facilities would be extended to Mr. Sreedharan for early completion of the work as promised.

Mr. Chandy said he would hold discussions with Mr. Sreedharan and others concerned again on his return to Thiruvananthapuram next Wednesday, after talks in Delhi. He would seek the involvement of the DMRC in monorail projects in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. Mr. Sreedharan told the media that there were no issues between him and the DMRC regarding implementation of the Kochi Metro Rail Project. The work would be executed in collaboration with the DMRC. The project office for this had already been set up and the project report was ready.

He said the project would be executed by the DMRC as deposit work in consultation with Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. “We will work together in carrying out the project.”