After many roadblocks, Hyderabad Metro to be inaugurated on 28 Nov
The Hyderabad Metro Rail will finally be flagged off for its first 30-km-long journey connecting Miyapur to Nagole by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 28.
It took more than a decade for the metro rail project to become a reality from its conception, due to the numerous controversies and hurdles. From changing of the concessionaire to death of a chief minister, daily agitations and bifurcation of the State, the Hyderabad metro encountered several roadblocks in its decade-long journey to get on to the elevated tracks.
Scripting success of the Rs. 14,132-crore mega project has proven to be a Herculean task. Of this, the Union Government has provided a 10% viability gap funding of Rs. 1,450 crore (of which Rs 958 crore has been released so far). Apart from the estimated cost of the project, the Government of Telangana pitched in with Rs. 3,000 crore, out of which Rs. 2,240 crore has already been paid.
Choosing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Model came under severe criticism from multiple corners. It was a disruptive model. While the 55 per cent of revenue would come from ticket sale, 45% of revenue would come from commercial exploitation of the space.
After the selection of the concessionaire and signing the agreements, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Chief E Sreedharan criticised the project saying that making available 296 acres of prime public property to the concessionaire for commercial exploitation was like “selling family silver”. However during his two visits to the project, he lauded the people who have worked on it.
Roadblocks
The first concessionaire, Maytas Infra Ltd, ran into rough weather irrevocably with its promoter Teja Raju’s father B Ramalinga Raju of Satyam Computers admitted to committing corporate fraud – a scandal that rocked India in January 2009.
The contract was awarded to a Maytas Infra-led consortium in 2008, after it declined any viability gap funding from the state and instead offered to share returns with the state government from the profits it would make from the project. However, the unforeseen blow suffered by the Satyam Computer Services cast its shadow on Maytas Infra which led to the scrapping of the deal. The state government then decided to call for fresh tenders.
“With the explosion of Maytas issue, everybody attacked the PPP model and even my personal integrity came under cloud,” Hyderabad Metro Rail Managing Director NVS Reddy recalled, adding that the scam had nothing to do with the metro rail project.
The next worst jolt the project received was the death of Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. This was followed by Telangana agitation reaching its crescendo. At that time, it seemed to be leading nowhere.
Even though the YSR’s successor K Rosaiah was busy handling the Telangana agitation, the concession agreement with L&T was signed during his time after being put off on six occasions.
The concession agreement enables L&T to commercially exploit 18.5 million sq ft area, including in the metro stations and also 30 per cent of the space available in all the three depots. In the current phase, L&T is coming up with six malls along the metro rail route.
Controversies
It was after N Kirankumar Reddy became the Chief Minister, the project was kick-started even when the city’s other activities came to a standstill with agitations in 2012.
As the L&T began its works of erecting pillars across the city, the HMRL faced many challenges, especially litigations. Over 200 court cases were filed, of which the Metro Rail company won 190 and some are still pending disposal.
Meanwhile, the state was bifurcated and K Chandrasekhar Rao was elected Chief Minister of Telangana. He came under pressure to change the MD and modify the project plan in some stretches. While Rao didn’t change the management, his government did call for a change in the plan, which was opposed by L&T. As a result, work on the project came to a halt for close to a year.
However, the concessionaire urged the state government and the HMRL to pay a compensation of Rs 3,756 crore for the delay and deviations in alignment, as per the concession agreement. The issue, however, remains knotty.
Quick facts
Even though the first and second stretches were ready a few months ago, the CM insisted that the project should be thrown open to public once the last mile connectivity was ensured in the first stretch. “We are happy that we could realize his wish,” said Reddy.
The Hyderabad Metro Rail will cover a distance of 30 km covering 24 stations with a train having with three coaches every 15 minutes and every three minutes during peak hours, soon after the inauguration. In this 30-km stretch, the HMRL would transport 60,000 to 75,000 passengers every hour and 10-15 lakh passengers every day. Some of its features include app-supported bicycles, modern amenities, shopping at stations, feeder buses and electric vehicles plying to nearby localities.
The HMRL Managing Director is confident that of completing the first phase of the project by November 2018. It involves connecting three different lines covering close to 70 km – from Miyapur to LB Nagar; Jubilee Bus Station to Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station; and Nagole to Raidurg. This would cover 66 stations catering to 30 lakh passengers a day and 1,80,000 travelers per hour.
Reddy claims that the project is an engineering marvel. “This is the first time in the world that huge stations will be balanced just be one single pillar”.
