Interim consultancy for Light Metro goes to DMRCs.

Pact to be signed between DMRC and KRTL once govt. approves terms

Overcoming the bureaucratic hurdles, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has bagged the interim consultancy for the Light Metro proposed for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode cities for Rs.5.28 crore.

The DMRC, on December 28, accepted terms and conditions and forwarded it to the Managing Director of the Kerala Rapid Transit Limited (KRTL), the SPV set up to execute the MRTS project in the two cities of the State.

The letter to this effect was given to the KRTL by the DMRC Principal Adviser, E. Sreedharan, after the meeting in Kochi recently with the project officials dealing with the Light Metro, sources in DMRC told The Hindu .

With this, the decks have been cleared for the signing of the agreement for interim consultancy of the Light Metro project.

The pact between the DMRC and KRTL will be signed once the government approves the terms and conditions.

As per the terms and conditions, the DMRC will get Rs.5.28 crore as interim consultancy fees.

The fees will be 0.1 per cent of the total estimate (Rs.6728 crore) minus the land cost, central tax and general charges of the project. The validity of the interim consultancy is nine months.

The DMRC has sought 20 per cent of the Rs.5.28 crore interim consultancy fees as advance.

The remaining 60 per cent of the fees is to be paid to the DMRC in three instalments of 20 per cent each every two months. The last 20 per cent is to be paid on the completion of consultancy.

The terms and conditions are based on the note by Mr. Sreedharan to the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, who is also the chairman of the KRTL. The request for interim consultancy from the DMRC figured in the KRTL meeting chaired by Mr. Chandy on October 14.

The Chief Minister, who is also the chairman of the KRTL, intervened to “correct’ the minutes of the meeting to give approval to the DMRC’s request. But, the file was held up due to the objections from bureaucracy over the decision.

Rolling stock design finalisation and invitation of bids, preparation of details of land acquisition, estimates and drawings and plan of the flyovers, proposals for utility shifting, and road diversion management figure in the interim consultancy plan.

The DMRC will be able to go ahead with the preliminary work while waiting for the nod from the Urban Development Ministry for in-principle approval for the Light Metro, participation of the Centre, and 20 per cent equity contribution.

The decision has come as a breather to the DMRC that was gearing up to scale down personnel and wind up the offices in the two cities following the inordinate delay.

THE HINDU