Besides, the project appears to have hit a bumpy road, as the expected cost on completion has exceeded Rs 6,500 cr and is estimated to further rise to Rs 13,000 cr.
Besides, the project appears to have hit a bumpy road, as the expected cost on completion has exceeded Rs 6,500 cr and is estimated to further rise to Rs 13,000 cr.The BMRCL is once again at the centre of a brewing controversy and this time around, the estimated cost for completion of the much-hyped Metro project has shocked officials across the state. Adviser to State Government for Traffic, Transportation and Infrastructure M N Sreehari has estimated that on completion of the BMRCL, total costs could be in excess of Rs 13,000 crore in the next two years.
On track: The BMRCL, however, argues against this claiming that work
is going as per schedule and the plan initially laid out. Representation pic"Initially, the entire project was estimated to cost around Rs 6,500 crore, but already Rs 8,500 crore has been spent. By 2013, this figure will rise to Rs 13,000 crore, which is to be borne by the State and the Centre. Public money is being lost because of bad planning and high handedness of BMRCL officials," he claimed.
Impossible?When questioned about the same, spokesperson for BMRCL, B L Yashwant Chavan said, "The State and the Center have recently agreed that the cost of completion would be nothing more than Rs 11,609 crore. All contracts have been issued and work is going on as pre-decided."
Arguing against this, Sreehari explained that Rs 11,609 crore would practically be insufficient to complete the pending work, keeping in mind that the project is behind schedule. "Most countries take no more than a year and a half to complete such projects, but the BMRCL seems to be dragging its feet. The cost estimates will obviously shoot up because of loans taken by BMRCL. The interest amount will add to their estimated amount because of the recent loan they took again from the JICA," he said.
Sreehari went ahead to make another serious charge, alleging that the underground tunnel boring work initiated by the BMRCL last month should have in fact started two years ago. "Even a layman can understand that working underground would take much longer than working on ground. Why didn't the BMRCL start the tunnel boring work two years ago? Even now, work continues at a snail's pace," he alleged.
He added that the machines were capable of covering only 10 meters each day and feared that the project would not take shape until 2014-15. The BMRCL however argues against this claiming that work is going as per schedule and the plan initially laid out. "The tenders had to be evaluated and based solely on the tendering, the underground tunnel boring work could have started. As per the area covered by the machines on a daily basis, we had informed the chief minister during the inauguration itself that 10 meters is the only average that can be achieved," said Chavan.
Double workforceInitially the BMRCL found itself at the centre of controversy because of lack of funds. Two years down the line however, though financial resources are not a problem anymore, the BMRCL still finds it difficult to speed up the process. "The project does not lack funds anymore and they have the right governmental backing. Now, they just need to set straight and transparent plans," said Sreehari. He added that BMRCL currently needed to double the workforce and work 24/7 in order to speed up the project to avoid delay and loss of money. "Each day of delay costs the state exchequer a loss of Rs 65 lakhs," he said. Shooting down this idea Chavan said that skilled labourers are in short supply and he reiterated that the project was running as per schedule.
