Mumbai metro-I may miss September deadline, says Prithviraj Chavan by nikhilndls on 31 August, 2013 - 03:56 PM | ||
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![]() | Mumbai metro-I may miss September deadline, says Prithviraj Chavan on 31 August, 2013 - 03:56 PM | |
The worst fears highlighted by Metroman E Sreedharan seems to be coming true for the Maharashtra government. Even as the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar first metro line misses its deadline time and again, issues over its fare and project cost have cropped up again and this means it may not be opened for public use by next month.There metro project cost has shot up from Rs2,356 crore to over Rs3,500 crore. When the negotiations between the state government and Reliance Infrastructure-led Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) over sharing the increased project costs and fares begins, the two options that the former will have to look at are taking over the project (on the lines of Delhi’s Airport Express) and increasing the fares. For years now, E Sreedharan has been vocal to warn state governments opting to execute metro projects using the PPP financial model by saying that this model has not been a success anywhere across the world. In India, Delhi has already witnessed a failed PPP metro rail project (again with Reliance Infrastructure). “I have been told that metro work is 95% done and the commissioner of Railway Safety is trying to look at safety issues. We do not want to put safety of people at risk; so, till the time safety certifications come, metro rail will not be opened for public,” said chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. |