Ranchi Metro a must but where’s the will

Source: telegraphindia.com

The proposed monorail/metro project for Ranchi, which chief minister Raghubar Das had announced in November 2015, has been struck off from the priority list of the government ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

Ministers and members of the BJP tasked with the job to highlight the achievements of the government ahead of the crucial polls no longer broach the sensitive topic of “Metro Rail”.

The central government, which was supposed to provide funds for the project, has also rejected the state’s proposal on technical grounds but residents feel that monorail or metro railway is the need of the hour for better public transport in the state capital.

“In the next three decades Ranchi is bound to expand because of the growing population but the government has not taken any step for planned development of the capital. The main city is spread over a few square kilometres but people are gradually settling down in the fringes of the city. In such a situation, metro rail would have served future purposes. Now, the Jharkhand High Court and the Assembly are being shifted outside the city limits and people will require a rapid transport system,” said city-based contractor Arun Kumar Mishra.

Ranchi entrepreneur Chandra Bhushan Jha, however, feels metro is not feasible for a city like Ranchi that is growing vertically.

“Patna will soon have metro railway but we don’t even have proper city bus services. A bus fleet was purchased under JNNURM to improve urban transportation but most of these buses are in bad shape because of lack of maintenance. Metro is indeed required since Ranchi has the worst traffic system but the big question is whether we have enough space within the city to execute the project,” said Jha.

Sidharth Tiwary, a business consultant, however, feels otherwise.

“Three cities of Jharkhand — Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Dhanbad — have been categorised as tier-II cities. Trade, commerce and industry in Ranchi is expanding. Inter-connectivity of districts should be priority for the government now. Urban development remained pivotal for the government and a number of good works were done by Das but I am surprised why the government did not take up the metro railway project,” said Tiwary.

State urban development minister C.P. Singh, who also holds the additional charge of transport, said the project had been aborted on technical grounds.

“We had submitted a proposal to the Centre but it was rejected on technical grounds. In future I don’t think neither monorail nor metro railway would be taken up for Ranchi. We don’t have sufficient land in the city to start the project. People want facilities but they won’t part with land. Even in executing small projects we face problems and protests. To commission a project the government is forced to use force and then attract criticism. Without public cooperation it is impossible to start a mega project like this,” minister Singh said.

He added that the urban development department had identified government land at Dubalia to set up the Transport Nagar but people had started protesting against the project.

“Like at Bajara, the department had identified government land to execute a housing project for the poor, but we have been facing protests. In fact, the government drags its foot from any project fearing people’s protest,” said Singh.

‘Disease will spread’: ‘Metro Man’ Sreedharan asks PM Modi to reject AAP govt’s free travel scheme for women

Source: freepressjournal.in

New Delhi: Opposing the AAP government’s proposed free travel scheme for women in the Delhi Metro trains, its former chief E Sreedharan has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to agree to the proposal as it would set an “alarming precedence”.

He said the”disease” will spread fast to all other metros in the country, making them dependent on state government for subsidies. In a letter to the prime minister, Sreedharan, popularly called ‘Metro Man’, said if the Delhi government is “so keen” to help women commuters, it can pay the cost of their travel directly to them rather than making travel free on metro trains. The proposed move will push the Delhi Metro into “inefficiency and bankruptcy”, he said.

The former Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) chief has also sought Modi’s intervention in the matter. Reacting to Sreedharan’s letter, the ruling AAP said although it disagrees with it, it welcomes his viewpoint on the issue, saying that metro will not suffer any losses due to the proposed scheme. The party also rejected his suggestion for direct bank transfer to beneficiaries. In the letter, Sreedharan said when the first section of the Delhi Metro was to be opened in 2002, he had taken a firm decision that no one would be given travel concession.

Even the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had bought a ticket himself to travel to the station from where the metro’s first section was inaugurated, he said. “I would very earnestly request you sir not to agree to the Delhi government’s proposal of free travel to ladies in the Metro. “If the Delhi government is so keen to help lady commuters, I would suggest it can pay directly to the lady commuters the cost of their travel rather than make travel free on the metro,” Sreedharan said in the letter.

Earlier this month, the Arvind Kejriwal government announced that it would make commute for women in public buses and metro trains free. “Now, if ladies are to be given free travel concession in Delhi Metro, it would set an alarming precedence to all other metros in the country. The argument of the Delhi government that the revenue losses would be reimbursed to the DMRC is a poor solace,” the former DMRC managing director said. The DMRC is a joint venture of the Centre and the Delhi government and one shareholder cannot take a unilateral decision to give concession to one section of the community and push the Delhi Metro into “inefficiency and bankruptcy”, Sreedharan said.

Even officers and staff, including managing director of the DMRC, purchase tickets when they travel on the metro on official duties, he said. Reacting to the issue, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said he was “surprised” and “pained” to read Sreedharan’s letter addressed to the prime minister. “Sir, your stand appears to be a result of misunderstanding about the Delhi government’s proposal. You will appreciate that after completion of Phase-III of the DMRC, its services were designed to have a capacity of daily ridership of four million,” Sisodia said.

The Aam Aadmi Party also issued a statement. “We look forward to addressing Sreedharan’s concerns over our proposal. He believes making metro travel free for women will result in losses and inefficiency in the functioning of the Delhi Metro. “We want to assure him that the Delhi Metro will not suffer any losses since the Delhi government will reimburse the agency for free rides taken by women, thus eliminating the possibility of inefficiency,” AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said in statement.

It stated that according to the former DMRC chief, the Delhi government should transfer the subsidy amount directly into accounts of travellers. “This is not a practical solution. There is no way to determine precisely how many women will use public transport, for what distance, for how many days, therefore making it impossible to calculate the direct subsidy transfer needed to reimburse travel for women,” Bharadwaj said.