'Metro Man' Sreedharan appointed principal advisor to MRTCs in J&K

The Jammu and Kashmir Governor administration has approved the appointment of "Metro Man" E Sreedharan as the principal advisor to two mass rapid transit systems to be built in Jammu and Srinagar, an official said Sunday.

Sreedharan, a retired IES (IRSE) officer, is popularly known as the "Metro Man" for changing the face of public transport in the country with his leadership of building the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro.

Appointed by former UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon to serve on the United Nations High Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport for three years in 2015, he has a vast experience in the implementation of mass rapid transit systems within the country.

The governor administration has approved setting up of two MRTCs Jammu Mass Rapid Transit Corporation and the Srinagar Mass Rapid Transit Corporation for the two capital cities.

Principal Secretary to Government, Housing and Urban Development department, Dheeraj Gupta, is the chairman and Kumar Rajeev Ranjan is the chief executive officer-cum-managing director of the two MRTCs, the official said.

He said these corporations would have administrative secretaries of finance department, transport department, chief executive officer, J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency, additional chief executive officer and managing director, MRTC Jammu and Srinagar, nominee of Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and other experts on the board.

These corporations will address the issue of urban mobility in the state in a holistic manner, the spokesman said.