Despite PM stepping in,tiff over elevated corridor continues

While the state demanded scrapping of the public private partnership (PPP) model mooted by Railways,the Planning Commission of India — which has been pushing the project — continues to press hard for the PPP arrangement.

Gajendra Haldea,advisor on infrastructure to the commission’s Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia,has written to the state in support of the PPP model. Sources said the communication,issued on November 20,argues that when the state has chosen the PPP route for several infrastructure projects,why should the same not be applied in this case. It has demanded justification from the government for its opposition.

The communication has been put before Chief Secretary Jayant Kumar Banthia.

On November 13,Singh convened a meeting to review the project after the Railways and the Planning Commission complained that the state was dithering in its responsibilities towards the project.

While the Western Railway is implementing the project,the state government is to support it in land acquisition,relief and rehabilitation,shifting of utilities,and allocation of floor space index for commercial exploitation of stations and land parcels,among others. A support agreement to be signed between the two in this regard has been pending.

During the Delhi meeting,Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had contended that PPP models,especially in the case of land-based major infrastructure projects,had not been encouraging.

At the meeting,the state government rooted for the implementation of the project through a cash contract by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) comprising officials from the Maharashtra Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC),and state agencies CIDCO and MMRDA.

But with WR having invited applications from private parties interested in setting up the 60-km corridor under PPP,Haldea’s latest communication indicates Centre’s unwillingness to deviate from the route,a source said.

The feasibility of the elevated corridor is also under cloud with Singh ordering a “fresh traffic study to be conducted,taking into account the capacity being created by Metro Line-3,that is partially in the same alignment”. The state government has sought curtailing of the corridor’s length.

Several infrastructure majors,including Reliance,Tatas,L&T,and GMR,have evinced interest in the project.

sandeep.ashar@expressindia.com