Mumbai:
A reply to a Ghatkopar resident's query made to the Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has said that the cost of the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor increased by Rs 1,714 crore because of constraints on the ground necessitating design changes and delays in handing over the right of way to the company .
“I filed an RTI query to ascertain the increase in project cost and the reasons for the delay ,“ the RTI applicant, Sanjeev Durve, said. “The reply provided by the MMOPL states that the project was delayed because the right of way was not provided and at many places the MMOPL was forced to change the design because of constraints like utilities or encroachments.“
The MMOPL had come under the ambit of the RTI Act by a ruling of the state information commission. The ruling came after former central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi was directed to the MMRDA when he sought from the MMOPL copies of the inspection report given by the commissioner of Metro rail safety .
Durve said that he had filed a similar RTI query with the MMRDA. The official reply matched the answers given by the MMOPL.
“The MMRDA said that inability to carry out roadwidening at JP Road, acquisition of land at Sarvodaya Hospital, shifting of utilities, re lief and rehabilitation work, and erection of girders on narrow and congested road were the reasons for the delay and cost escalation,“ he said.
The RTI reply stated that a majority of the reasons for the delay lay with the MMOPL.
“The study of the reply indicates that the MMRDA failed to properly plan the project,“ Durve said. “As a result, the execution of this corridor was delayed, causing hardship to residents.“
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