New Metro boss gets cracking on Phase III

New Delhi: A month after Mangu Singh took over as the head of Delhi Metro, he has cracked the whip on officials over the Phase III project. “The first review meeting of the third phase was all about ensuring that construction goes on without a hitch or mishap. Unlike in earlier projects, this time project managers have been asked to start work on the blueprint for utility line diversions before the tenders are awarded,” said an official.

The meeting comes on the heels of several incidents involving the Metro, including malfunctioning of software in doors and the repeated trouble over overhead electrification (OHE) on the Vaishali- Anand Vihar corridor. With several tenders being awarded for the work on Phase III, construction is expected to start in the next six months. “The message at the meeting was very clear — nothing should disturb the lives of those residing along the alignment,” added the official.

The concern is understandable considering Phase III will be going through heavily congested areas like the Walled City and east Delhi. While the Mukundpur-Yamuna Vihar corridor will go through dense residential colonies from west to east Delhi, the Janakpuri (west) to Kalindi Kunj corridor will cross over to Noida in UP. The extension of the Central Secretariat-Badarpur line to Faridabad will also cross the city’s borders.

The identification of utility lines and their diversions is a major part of the pre-construction phase. Water , sewer and telephone lines, along with fiber optic cables and gas pipelines will have to be identified and diverted underground.

Overhead telephone and power lines also need to be diverted during the construction of the Metro corridors . “In phase II, a lot of care had to be taken during the construction of the alignment near Green Park, as the blueprint of the utility lines was not available with the civic agency. These lines need to be identified physically before construction ,” said the official. An interface with neighbouring states like Haryana and UP will also throw up challenges , said sources.

Monday’s meeting assumes importance, specially as the construction of Phase III is the first major project under Singh’s leadership after E Sreedharan’s exit. The construction of Phase II had been marred by the Zamrudpur incident as well as the Laxmi Nagar accident.