The DMRC's project to extend the Metro rail from Dilshad Garden to the New Bus Stand in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh has got stuck due to alleged indifference of government agencies over contribution of funds approved by the state cabinet, sources in the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) said on Monday.
"Even the state trade tax department has not responded to the GDA reminders to deliberate on land issue for Arthala metro station. The GDA needs its land for the metro station and it has reminded the department to put forward its conditions ... but the department has been sitting on the GDA proposals for over a year with no interest," said a GDA official.
The official said, "The funding pattern was approved by the state cabinet but the contributing agencies like UPSIDC, Municipal Corporation and Avas Vikas have not contributed to the fund for payment."
"Presently the work which is visible on the site is just an eyewash. The major expenditure -- buying the trains which is almost 60 per cent of the total project -- has not yet happened. So forget that the project will be completed in the stipulated time in December 2016. The project would be completed by the next government only," added the source.
While the project is being delayed for want of clearance of the file for transfer of land to DMRC for Arthala Metro station from the trade tax department, the heavy expenses incurred in the development of housing complexes around Koyal Enclave has left the GDA with no money, the source added.
Earlier, Sada Kant, the Principal Secretary Housing, had claimed that the financial crunch is also forcing them to review the situation again. The other funding agencies like Municipal Corporation, Housing Board and UPSIDC were not financially sound enough to contribute their share in the Rs 1,480-crore project.
Top sources in the state bureaucracy revealed that the Principal Secretary's statement regarding funding pattern was unwarranted since the funding pattern and the Memorandum of Understanding with the DMRC was approved by the state cabinet. The non-compliance of cabinet approval is a violation of the law and in case of a fund crunch the department should seek funds from the state.
"It is a setback to the DMRC project... Can the head of any department dump files for over six months or can any department refuse to comply with the cabinet decision? The government is not inclined to get through this project," said Rajendra Tyagi, the councillor of the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation.
--IANS
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