JICA has approved variation in expenditure of East West Metro

East West Metro authorities today told the Calcutta High Court that JICA, the Japanese agency which is part-funding East West Metro Railway here, has approved variation in expenditure with regard to realignment through Esplanade station.
Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Ltd (KMRCL) counsel Bikash Bhattacharya informed the court that approval of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been obtained with regard to cost escalation over realignment of route through Esplanade station.
The KMRCL counsel told Justice Dipankar Dutta that necessary instructions on the basis of the approval have been passed on to engineering firm AFCONS on construction of the metro line through the new alignment.

AFCONS had moved the high court seeking direction to KMRCL to give approval for the variation of costs over realignment.
The realignment, as proposed by the West Bengal government, was through Subodh Mallick Square, thus making the passenger interface with the north-south metro railway at Esplanade station and not Central station.
KMRCL also informed the court that out of 91 trees to be felled at Laldighi area at Dalhousie for construction of Mahakaran station, 10 have been identified which would be transplanted.
Asking KMRCL to see if more of those trees can be transplanted, the bench directed that the matter would be taken up for hearing again on Friday.

The 14.67 km-long East West Metro corridor connecting Howrah with Salt Lake Sector V boasts of a major engineering marvel with the recent completion of metro tunnel under Hooghly river.