Comments
The State Government is ready to forego the global tender option if ‘Metro Man' Mr E. Sreedharan agrees to takeover the Kochi Metro project.
The State Government was reiterated to newspersons here by Mr Aryadan Mohammed, the State Minister for Power and Railways.
OPEN OFFER
The State Government was only too willing to offer Mr Sreedharan, who has just retired from services at the helm of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), any position that he may have in mind.
The Minister expressed keen interest on enlisting his services even while stating that the State Government had opted for a global tender to ensure transparency in the implementation of the Rs 3,000-crore project.
On his part, Mr Sreedharan is reported to have expressed the view he would be interested in the Kochi Metro project if it is awarded to DMRC. But the State Government is in a dilemma since financiers JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) has insisted on floating a global tender for award of the project.
The DMRC could in turn bid for the tender, an option that has failed to find favour with the corporation.
Meanwhile, Mr Tom Jose, Managing Director, and Mr Elias George, Special Officer, Kochi Metro, have had informal discussions with JICA which has offered funds at 1.5 per cent interest.
The loan was offered on condition that the State Government would go for global tender, ensure resettlement of evictees and clear all environmental issues.
This was deemed the best option as it will make the project more transparent and help avoid strictures from the Comptroller and Auditor General in future.
Moreover, DMRC had the option of participating in the global tender, the Minister said.
RESPONSE AWAITED
The Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, the Industries Minister, Mr P. K. Kunhalikutty, and Mr Aryadan Mohammed himself have been persuading Mr Sreedharan to take up the task.
But so far he has not responded to the requests, Mr Mohammed said.
“Mr Sreedharan is free to takeover in any capacity, as Chairman and Managing Director or as Adviser to the project,” the Minister added.
REJECTED MODEL
When the project proposal was mooted first, the Planning Commission had strongly favoured the public-private-participation model, which successive State Governments have rejected outright.
The Centre then proposed the Chennai Metro model, to which the Union Ministry of Urban Development has extended its approval.
The new proposal would soon be cleared by the Public Investment Board and then by the Cabinet, Mr Mohammed said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.