No communication from K'taka on mono rail: Centre

Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy on Thursday said that the Centre had received no proposal or communication from Karnataka government on any mono rail project for Bangalore along with the metro project.

"There is no proposal before us. We have also received no communication," Reddy said and refused to comment on the mono rail project being pursued by the state which is also getting assistance from the centre for the Bangalore metro. Reddy, whom Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy met in New Delhi on Wednesday and discussed the metro rail project, said the "process (on metro) will get started soon."

Asked if the Centre will put a condition that mono rail should not be brought in with the metro rail on the anvil, he said, "we are not aware of anything relating to mono rail. I, therefore, will not comment."

He said urban transport was a state subject under the Constitution but the Centre was providing thousands of crores of rupees for metro in different big cities which suffered for want of a proper public transport system.

On the Centre's view about the BJP-JDS government's approach to metro, he said: "As a minister of central government, I do not give ratings to state governments."

Reddy said the Bangalore metro will be implemented through a special purpose vehicle in which both the central and state governments will be partners. "We are paying more than we thought we would (for Bangalore metro) because money for customs duties is being provided additionally as subordinate debt." Metro rail in Mumbai and Hyderabad was cast in a different mould.

"We will provide money as partners.There will be no need for private contribution or private enterpreneurs for the Bangalore metro," he said.