Documents of Hyderabad Metro Rail Project be made public: Opnn
The ambitious Hyderabad Metro Rail Project has raised the hackles of environmentalists and opposition parties.
By PTI |
Hyderabad: The ambitious Hyderabad Metro Rail Project, billed as India's biggest such venture, has raised the hackles of environmentalists and opposition parties who have threatened to stall the bidding process, citing environmental concerns.
Alleging that the Rs 8,760 crore project is being taken by Congress government with undue haste without involving the stakeholders, the 'Citizens for a Better Public Transport', a conglomeration of 15 NGOs, demanded that all documents pertaining to the project be made public.
The technical bids for the project, covering 66 km and involving construction of 63 stations to decongest the city traffic, are set to be opened later this week and the works on the first phase of the project are expected to commence next month.
"We will resort to direct action and disrupt the bidding process if the government does not agree to make the documents public. The project was conceived without taking the overall perspective of public transportation needs of the city," TDP former Minister K Vijayarama Rao, said.
The NGOs forum demanded that the project be kept in abeyance for six months and a public debate be held to go into its pros and cons.
"The Metro Rail will spoil the city's skyline permanently, without connecting any new regions," Prof Ramachandraiah of the Centre for Economic and Social Studies said.
The opponents of the project say that Metro Rail is not the solution for the traffic congestion in the city.
"There has to be a holistic approach involving strengthening the road network and connecting the railway corridors of the region in a manner that eases pressure on the city traffic," Rao said.
The first phase of the prestigious project, to be implemented in Public Private Partnership mode on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, is scheduled to be completed by 2011.
A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)--Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited has already been formed to monitor its implementation a fast track.
With an average cost of Rs 132 crore per Kilometer, the project involves construction of 60 stations with all modern facilities including escalators and elevators.
The project would be implemented under Viability Gap Funding scheme of the Central Government in which 20 per cent of the cost would come from the Centre with a matching share from the State Government which will also take 11 per cent share in the equity capital.
The remaining cost would be borne by the selected BOT developer.
When completed, the project will be bigger than Delhi metro and one of the largest urban infrastructure projects in the country, Metro Rail Managing Director N V S Reddy said.
Five international consortia, which got pre-qualified, have submitted their technical bids.
Alleging that the Rs 8,760 crore project is being taken by Congress government with undue haste without involving the stakeholders, the 'Citizens for a Better Public Transport', a conglomeration of 15 NGOs, demanded that all documents pertaining to the project be made public.
The technical bids for the project, covering 66 km and involving construction of 63 stations to decongest the city traffic, are set to be opened later this week and the works on the first phase of the project are expected to commence next month.
"We will resort to direct action and disrupt the bidding process if the government does not agree to make the documents public. The project was conceived without taking the overall perspective of public transportation needs of the city," TDP former Minister K Vijayarama Rao, said.
The NGOs forum demanded that the project be kept in abeyance for six months and a public debate be held to go into its pros and cons.
"The Metro Rail will spoil the city's skyline permanently, without connecting any new regions," Prof Ramachandraiah of the Centre for Economic and Social Studies said.
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The opponents of the project say that Metro Rail is not the solution for the traffic congestion in the city.
"There has to be a holistic approach involving strengthening the road network and connecting the railway corridors of the region in a manner that eases pressure on the city traffic," Rao said.
The first phase of the prestigious project, to be implemented in Public Private Partnership mode on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, is scheduled to be completed by 2011.
A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)--Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited has already been formed to monitor its implementation a fast track.
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With an average cost of Rs 132 crore per Kilometer, the project involves construction of 60 stations with all modern facilities including escalators and elevators.
The project would be implemented under Viability Gap Funding scheme of the Central Government in which 20 per cent of the cost would come from the Centre with a matching share from the State Government which will also take 11 per cent share in the equity capital.
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The remaining cost would be borne by the selected BOT developer.
When completed, the project will be bigger than Delhi metro and one of the largest urban infrastructure projects in the country, Metro Rail Managing Director N V S Reddy said.
Five international consortia, which got pre-qualified, have submitted their technical bids.
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