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Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy on Moday said the Kochi metro rail project would be completed in “a time-bound manner” and the first train would run by the end of 2015.
Chandy today went around the construction site, before taking part in a review meeting at the Kochi Metro Rail Limited office. He expressed satisfaction over the progress and said issues related to land acquisition in some parts of the project would be sorted out soon.
“The work is progressing well and would be completed in a time-bound manner,” the chief minister said.
He also said extension of the metro to IT hub Kakkanad and to Thripunithura would be completed in Phase -1 itself. In the second phase, the government is planning to extend the service to Cochin International airport at Nedumbassery and West Kochi.
Unveiling the miniature of a station design, Chandy said funds would be allotted in advance in order to complete Phase I allied works in a speedy manner.
Regarding the pending land acquisition issues, the meeting decided that one more opportunity would be given to settle the matter with the land-owners, failing which, the district administration would resort to statutory measures for taking over the land.
The chief minister requested Cochin Mayor Tony Chmmany to hand over the land and the building near the south railway station in advance for the metro station in Ernakulam South. KMRL would pay the approved R&R rates to the tenants of the building.
On the land acquisition at Ernakulam South railway station, since the payment of Rs 24 crore had been handed over to the Railways and the matter is at a final stage with the general manager, Southern Railways, the final permission is expected shortly.
For the construction of an ROB at Pachalam, the land acquisition requirement till March 2015 is Rs 10 crore while the execution requirement is Rs 19 crore. The meeting also decided that the people who were giving their property would be entitled to appropriate compensation.
