World Bank refuses clean chit to rehab project

World Bank President Robert Zoellick restrained himself from giving the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) a certificate for carrying out relief and rehabilitation work of the project-affected people (PAP) in accordance with the Bank's expectation.

"It is not important whether I am being satisfied or not, but people who have been rehabilitated are happy or not," he said.

Zoellick was taken to Majaswadi where MMRDA has rehabilitated the PAPs under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) in the western suburb of Jogeshwari.

However, Zoellick could barely spend around 20 minutes before he was taken by the MMRDA officials to meet Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

The World Bank chief could answer only two questions from the media. which was kept at a distance when he was interacting with the PAPs.

An association of local residents gave him a memorandum in which they complained about leaking flats, water supply and other problems.

Last year, the Bank had announced suspension of funding worth $ 945-million to MUTP after receiving complaints from residents and NGOs over poor quality of the rehabilitation work. However, it resumed its assistance following negotiations.

The Bank has so far provided a financial assistance of $542 million to the project, which is expected to be completed by 2009.