RailEnquiry

MUMBAI: The ruling Democratic Front (DF) government has prepared a status report on the MMRDA, instead of the white paper as promised earlier by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. "The authority was asked to give the details of projects undertaken by them in the last ten years. Accordingly the MMRDA has prepared the booklet that gives information about the completed and ongoing projects in the last decade," Chavan said in a written reply to a query raised by MNS legislator Mangesh Sangle and other opposition MLAs during the state assembly's question hour on Tuesday. The opposition questioned the inordinate delay by the MMRDA in executing the Metro rail project, the Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Projects (MUIP), the monorail and other projects. Opposition MLAs even asked the CM about the status of the white paper on the MMRDA's functioning. But the CM's reply has surprised the Opposition. "We were expecting a white paper and not the status report," Sena MLC Anil Parab said. "When the MMRDA issue comes for discussion in the state legislative council, the opposition will certainly insists on a white paper," he added. In September 2012, Chavan said the DF government would table the white paper on the MMRDA's projects within a month. The demand for the white paper was made by the NCP. Following a mishap in which one person was killed as a bridge on the Metro line collapsed in September 2012, home minister R R Patil demanded a white paper on the MMRDA's functioning. Chavan heads the state agency.

"There is no quality check and control over the cost and time overruns of the MMRDA projects. There is need for a detail audit of the authority," Patil had demanded. Taking cognizance of the NCP's demand, Chavan said a white paper would be prepared. Political observers said the NCP raked up the demand for an "audit" of the MMRDA after the Congress raised the issue of delay in irrigation projects being executed by the water resources department, held by the NCP.

Taking cognizance of the fact that the delay in implementing key infrastructure project in Mumbai will have its repercussion on the general and assembly elections in 2014, Chavan in his meeting with MMRDA officials recently instructed the planner to expedite their projects and complete them by December.