Maharashtra may annul R-Infra Metro deals

Proposed underground Metro up to Dahisar entails investment of over Rs 21,000 cr

The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government in Maharashtra, which is fast-tracking a slew of infrastructure projects in Mumbai in the run-up to the Assembly elections, will have to terminate its technical and commercial agreements with Reliance Infrastructure arm Mumbai Metro Transport Pvt Ltd (MMPTL) for the 32-km Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro-II elevated project.

Further, fresh tender will have to be invited for the revised project.

This is necessary after Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan announced on Wednesday in the state legislature that the state-run Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has engaged central government undertaking RITES to prepare a report on the conversion of Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro-II line to the underground and it will be extended up to Dahisar in north Mumbai.

The project cost is expected to swell to Rs 21,000 crore from Rs 7,660 core.

Incidentally, the cost of the proposed 33.5-km Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro, which will be fully underground, is pegged at Rs 23,126 crore.

The cost of the 11.4-km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro-I line, which was commissioned on June 8 after missing about eight deadlines since 2007, has increased to Rs 4,356 crore from Rs 2,300 crore.

A senior minister told Business Standard: “The 32-km metro-II project was launched in 2009 ahead of Assembly polls. The concession agreement with MMPTL was executed based on the model concession agreement as issued by Government of India on January 21, 2010 and the project was awarded on August 3, 2010.

However, there were problems in putting in place critical clearances and right of way necessitated to commence constructions. More importantly, the government and MMRDA could not get environmental clearances for construction of a car depot at Mankhurd (land comes under coastal zone regulation). This turned metro-II line a non-starter.”

The minister said there will be huge change in the scope of work for metro-II line due to its proposed conversion to underground and extending it up to Dahisar. A total distance of 40.2 km has been proposed. “The technical and commercial deals will have to be scrapped. The decision will be taken at the infrastructure committee headed by the chief minister and later fresh tender will be floated,” he added.

A Reliance Infrastructure official said its concession agreement signed with MMRDA for metro-II line is still in place. He admitted that with the change of scope of work, the commissioning the metro-II line will be possible only after 2021 against the originally-proposed 2015. The metro-II line is expected to carry 1.4 million consumers, but these estimates will also change with the government’s move to extend it up to Dahisar.

Ashok Datar, transport expert, said the Metro-II project with the proposed changes was not required as it will need huge investment and more than six to eight years to complete.

“Instead, the government can focus on strengthening the existing harbour train services from Panvel-Chembur-Wadala-Mahim. This can be done by spending Rs 40 crore without much time,'' he added.