KOLKATA: The underground section of the Joka-Esplanade Metro corridor is caught in a fresh stalemate.
The defence ministry has demanded an annual charge of Rs 30 crore for the three stations that will be built below the Maidan. Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), implementing agency of the Metro project, has pleaded inability to pay the sum, saying the Metro Railway, which incurs huge revenue losses every year, will not be able to bear this additional cost indefinitely. The office of the defence secretary has, however, shot another letter to the chairman of Railway Board, saying the charges cannot not be waived. Officials said railways would continue to reiterate its stance and conceded that underground tunnelling or station construction could not begin unless the dispute over the cost was resolved.
The Metro project approved in 2010 could only be executed till Mominpore because of pending permissions for the Maidan section from the Army, custodian of the Maidan. The nod for the 5km underground section was finally granted by the defence ministry this February. Now, the Army has written to RVNL, demanding Rs 30 crore as leasehold charges (calculated at 2.5% of the land value of Rs 1,209 crore) for the three stations-Victoria Memorial, Park Street and Esplanade. Land for the fourth underground station at Kidderpore belongs to the state government.
RVNL referred the matter to the Railway Board, which wrote to the defence ministry, pointing out that the loss-making Metro Railway would not be able to pay the huge sum every year. The entire Metro corridor, from Joka to Esplanade, has a July 2025 deadline. The viability of the Metro line is still being worked out. "We don't know how to spare Rs 30 crore annually. Even the North-South line, which is so popular, still incurs a huge loss. For every Rs 100 it earns, the outgo is Rs 250," an engineer in the railways said.
Since February, things have started moving for the 5km underground section of the 14km corridor. The green light came on February 4, when the Army informed Calcutta High Court that it was agreeable to tracks being laid below the Maidan. The court was hearing a PIL regarding restrictions against construction activity within 100m of Victoria Memorial. RVNL prayed to the court that the underground tunnelling and the Metro station would be beyond 200m of Victoria's boundary. In May, the Victoria Memorial Hall (VMH) board gave the much-awaited permission for the Victoria Memorial station.
On July 14, technical bids for Rs 2,571.3 crore were floated for the Mominpore-Esplanade segment. The contract will include construction of four underground stations of Kidderpore, Victoria, Park Street and Esplanade and that of Metro tunnels.
"The stations will be around 2.5m below the surface. So the Army is free to use the land above, if at all. Why is a government agency being charged for underground structures on government land?" a Railway official said, hoping the matter would be sorted out before the technical and financial bids were awarded by the end of the year. Army officers in Kolkata declined to comment. "The matter is between two ministries in Delhi. It should be addressed at their levels," said one.
