News Brief
Centre Flags "Very Slow" Land Transfer, Lack Of Full-Time MD In Rs 15,767 Crore Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project
Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project will link Bengaluru to its satellite townships, suburbs. (KRIDE)
The Central government on Wednesday (19 March) said that the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP) is facing delays due to slow land acquisition, and lack of leadership.
The Rs 15,767 crore project, being executed by Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE), has seen sluggish progress, particularly in acquiring state government land.
K-RIDE is a Joint venture of Government of Karnataka and the Ministry of Railways.
While Indian Railways has transferred its share of land, the delay in handing over state-owned land has impacted the project’s timeline.
The Centre has emphasised the need for a full-time leader with expertise in railway technology to accelerate implementation.
In a written reply to a question by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya in the Lok Sabha, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "Indian Railway has transferred the railway land to K-RIDE for the project however progress of transferring of State Government land is very slow".
Surya has asked whether the Union Government proposes to execute and operate the suburban railway network in Bengaluru on its own considering the slow progress of the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project.
According to the minister, K-Ride, in which the Karnataka government has 51 per cent equity, is executing the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP).
The 148.17 Km BSRP has been been sanctioned at a cost of Rs 15,767 crore with 20 per cent funding each by Government of India and Government of Karnataka and 60 per cent through debt, the minister said.
BSRP has four corridors:
Corridor-1: KSR Bengaluru City – Devanahalli (41.4 Km)
Corridor-3: Kengeri – Whitefield (35.52 Km)
Corridor-4: Heelalige – Rajankunte (46.25 Km)
Vaishnaw said that work is in progress on Corridor 2 and 4, while the preliminary work for Corridor 1 and 3 has been taken up by K-RIDE.
Another major issue highlighted by the Centre is the absence of a full-time Managing Director (MD) for K-RIDE.
Currently, a part-time MD appointed by the Karnataka government oversees the project.
The Centre has emphasised the need for a full-time leader with expertise in railway technology to accelerate implementation.
"Presently a part–time Managing Director (MD) appointed by Government of Karnataka is looking after the work of the project. There is a need for appointing a full time MD who is conversant with railway technology," the minister said.
The minister further noted that completion of railway projects depends on various factors like land acquisition by state government, forest clearance by officials of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities.
Further, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project/s site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions are among the other factors that impact the completion timelines, according to the minister.
