RailEnquiry

PUNE: Deputy Chief Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, in a sudden turn around, has conceded to the Congress-backed elevated Pune Metro, admitting that the underground one could indeed prove too expensive to become a reality.   The deputy chief minister had earlier, during the campaign for the civic elections, made light of the Congress allegations on cost escalations for an underground metro.   The metro is likely to get a nod at the next cabinet meeting scheduled to be held soon after the state legislature session, Pawar said during at a meeting in Mumbai on Monday.   The minister's move could be an attempt to preempt any embarrassment for himself after he realised that Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is indeed going to announce the elevated metro, political observers said.   NCP city unit president and newly elected Rajya Sabha member Vandana Chavan said her party did not mind withdrawing its opposition to the elevated metro if it brought relief to the common man.   “Experts have told us the underground metro could cost as much as Rs 10 per kilometre, which is way beyond the means of the common people. Apart from the three times cost escalations, the maintenance too could be high to manage, Chavan said adding that her party was still ready to hear anyone who could come up with a way to bring down the cost of the underground metro.   “The elevated routes have proven to be a disaster in Bangalore and Mumbai. Pune needs to learn lessons from their mistakes,” Pawar had said during the electioneering   He even said that being the State's finance minister, he was politically strong enough to take care of any escalated costs for the Metro project.   Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Ankush Kakade says there is no need to read too much into the NCP's change of stance on the Metro. “We have done it on several issues earlier and there is nothing wrong in bowing down to the opinion of experts. After all we are not the experts on the issue.”   On his party's vigorous campaign on the underground metro during the the civic elections, Kakade said it would be naive to believe that such a stand had brought his party any votes.   EMBARRASSMENT The minister’s move could be an attempt to preempt any embarrassment for himself after he realised that CM is indeed going to announce the elevated metro, political observers said.