Kochi:
The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) on Tuesday informed the Kerala High Court that the Kochi Metro Rail project would be placed before the Union Cabinet for final approval after a meeting of the Planning and Investment Board, scheduled next week.
Tom Jose, Managing Director of Metro Rail Ltd, filed an affidavit on a batch of petitions challenging the implementation of the Metro Rail project.
Jose submitted that the Union Cabinet's approval is expected soon. As part of the implementation of the project, a meeting of the Planning Commission, Expenditure Department, Revenue Department, Railways, Finance and others was held recently.
The participants clarified about certain pertinent issues at the meeting. Jose said that the Planning Commission had given in-principle approval to the project after taking into consideration all necessary factors under the Environmental Protection Act.
"The KMRL is willing to examine the grievances raised by the petitioners with an open mind subject to the technical feasibility and without sacrificing public interest. The contentions of the petitioners that the Metro Rail project is not viable and that Kochi does not require such a project are simply opinions by those who have neither the authority nor the technical expertise to arrive at such a conclusion," he said.
The affidavit also said that the 'in-principle' approval had been given after satisfying itself that the population of Kochi justified establishment of a metro rail system. It is estimated that the project would serve a total population of more than three million.
In fact, the Planning Commission's guidelines had recommended the introduction of metro rail for cities with over three million population.
The metro rail project is justified for Kochi on account of its peculiar type of development, waterways, low-lying areas and huge development.
He said that while implementing a big project such as Metro Rail, the citizens in and around the city might have problems and grievances. However, that should not be a reason for delaying the project.
The alignment has been fixed in such a way that the land acquisition and demolitions are minimal. An appropriate rehabilitation package for the persons affected by the project is being designed by the state government. The land required for the project comes to around 31.92 hectares.
Apart from private land, puramboke land available with various government departments will also be required for the purpose. The estimated cost of the revised estimate is 5,146 crore.
With mega projects such as Smart City, Info Park and Fashion City coming up in Kochi, the travel demand is expected to shoot up further, underlining the need for augmenting the transport infrastructure in Kochi region.
He further stated that the average increase in vehicle population in the city is nearly 12 to 13 per cent, and is projected to double in the next four years.