Metro rail project may get delayed by 2 more years

HYDERABAD: With the deadline for the Metro rail project ending in a few months and nearly a quarter of the work incomplete, the Telangana government is mulling an extension to the project. The deadline extension is in addition to unresolved issues such as the Metro rail alignment in the Old City and cost escalation.

The state government has begun consultations with the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on whether the deadline extension should be for one year or two years. "The project developer has requested the government for extension of schedule and it is under consideration. It will be discussed in the metro rail task force meeting in a couple of days and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will take a final decision," chief secretary S P Singh told TOI on Thursday.

Sources said the government has no problem in giving an extension as long as it does not result in financial burden on them or prolonging of the concession period (35 years) given to the developer to run the service.

Work on the 72-km metro rail project began in June 2012 and was supposed to be completed in five years, that is, June 2017. The concession agreement was signed in September 2010. As of now, about 78% of the work has been



completed.

Some of the reasons for the delay in the project include the government not providing the Right of Way in several stretches due to issues in land acquisition. A decision on the alignment near the Legislative Assembly was stalled for a year as the authorities looked for an alternative route. There was also opposition from traders at Sultan Bazaar, but it was resolved subsequently. The project developers also rain into trouble in acquisition of land at Green Lands and Sangeet Junction.

"It will take a minimum of 10 months to one year to complete the pending works. Two years are required if the Old City alignment is finalized. Over 1,000 properties need to be acquired in the Old City for the project," an official in the municipal administration department said.

L&T has been asking for extension of project schedule by 18 months for the past one year. It has also sought monetary compensation for the delays and cost overruns, which it says is due to the government failing to give the Right of Way as per the original schedule. An independent engineer was appointed to look into these issues. If the government and L&T do not come to an understanding on the cost, the project developer may opt for arbitration.