RailEnquiry

KOLKATA: The East-West Metro project, which had stumbled on a roadblock after the state government refused to transfer its equity to the ministry of railways, may finally get some tailwind. Chief secretary Sanjay Mitra has just written to Union urban development secretary Sudhir Mishra apprising him of the state government's plans to give up its share immediately.Mishra, who is also the chairman of the Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation (KMRCL), the company formed to implement the Rs 4,874-crore project, has called a meeting on November 15 to expedite the transfer process. "We have received a letter from the West Bengal government. A meeting has been scheduled on next Thursday for starting the share-transfer process," he told TOI from Delhi.The East-West corridor, which will connect Howrah with Salt Lake, ran into a major hurdle when Mamata quit the UPA government at the Centre. Funds stopped flowing and contractors couldn't be paid consequently.Ironically, the chief minister herself had proposed the idea of transferring the state government's 50% share to the railways. She wanted to ease the Rs 701-crore (equity contribution) burden on the cash-strapped government. At that time, it made sense since the railway ministry in Delhi was remote-controlled by Mamata from Writers' Buildings.

It was decided in a Union cabinet meeting on August 23 that the railways would have 74% equity of the KMRCL, including 50% share from the state government and 24 % from the ministry of urban development, which would still retain 26% equity.

After the Trinamool-UPA divorce, the Bengal government sat on the share transfer on the pretext of legal hurdles, thus putting the project in jeopardy. When TOI published reports on the uncertain future of the project, transport secretary and KMRCL acting managing director B P Gopalika said the government was waiting for a letter from the ministry of railways, after which the Bengal government would write a letter to initiate the transfer of equity. Documents showed that the railways had already sent this letter.

The other reason cited by the state government for delay in issuing the letter was the amendment to the Memorandum and Article of Association. The transport secretary had told the KMRCL board meeting on September 19 that the procedure of the amendment was necessary before the transfer of equity. The KMRCL board declared that it didn't agree with the contention and that the state government was unnecessarily sitting on the transfer.

The TOI reports may have had their effect, and the chief secretary, instead of leaving the onus of issuance of the two-line letter to the transport secretary and MD, KMRCL, decided to shoot it off himself. "The government can't sit idle for eternity since the East-West Metro would be the best thing to have happened to the state in a long time," said an official. Said another, "We haven't forgotten the time it took for the Metro railway to take off. The entire Central Avenue (now C R Avenue) had been left dug up for years because that project, too, was stuck in red-tape. Look at the state of the Phoolbagan crossing, Narkeldanga Mai Road and parts of E M Byspass, which are impossible to access these days because of the East-West Metro project."