All on track In 100 days!

KOCHI: Reviving hopes of the implementation of the Kochi Metro Rail Project, the state government is planning to include it among the '100 days projects'. As a first step towards this direction, the Union Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies held talks with E Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).Taking a clear decision on whether the project should come under the public sector or public private partnership (PPP) is crucial at this juncture. "The Planning Commission Vice-Chairman had said that the Union Government would provide 25 percent grant for the project. But the project should be implemented on PPP model," K V Thomas said. But according to E Sreedharan, private partnership is not viable in the case of the Kochi Metro Rail. So the project should come up as a joint venture between the state and the Centre. Sreedharan is of the opinion that the project will be viable only if it comes under the public sector. He said that even tender procedures to start the project as a joint venture has been initiated. Immediately after assuming power, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had made it clear that the state government would not insist that the project should come under the public sector. The LDF Government had set apart Rs 435 crore for the project in the state budget. It also handed over Rs 30 crore for the preparatory projects of the Kochi Metro Rail.According to the suggestion by DMRC, state government and the Union Government each should bear 25 percent of the total outlay. The rest of the amount can be mobilised from either the consortium of banks or as loan from Japanese Bank. The stand adopted by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and the Planning Commission Chairman is complementary to each other. But it contradicts  the stand by DMRC Managing Director. For the Kochi Metro Rail to become a reality,  a policy decision should be taken immediately. "I will meet the Chief Minister soon. If the state government takes the initiative the project can be started without much delay," K V Thomas said. Even if the project is included in the 100 days project by the state government, those in power should ensure that the project do not face the same fate of the 100 days project declared by the Union Government. When the UPA II came into power, it had included Kochi Metro Rail in the 100 days project. Even as the UPA II enters its second year of governance, the Kochi Metro Rail is still hooked in administrative tentacles.