L&T to wait for state’s reply on Metro delay

Hyderabad: While 40 per cent slow-down of the Metro Rail project is a reality, the company has decided to wait and watch for some more time after the turbulent meeting on Wednesday.

The reason for the letter of September 10, according to senior officers, was the increasing pressure on the company to carry forward the work. Twenty-five-days ago, a meeting was held with the state government of Telangana and senior L&T officers where assurances were given that all blockages would be cleared.

The major problems as also explained in the letter are the right to way certificate from GHMC and the traffic police, allowing for work to be carried out during the day and also segregating the traffic so that the work can be smoothly carried out.

Despite promises that these three issues would be looked into, it was not done as the letter points out.

In his letter, Mr V. B. Gadgil, chief executive, had stated that at different forums, the discussions are going on since eight months about the impediments faced in the project.

He stated in the letter, “All such factors are having a snowballing effect on the viability of the project. We are of the opinion that it is very important at this stage to inform the lenders of the true state of the project.”

With these strong words, it is amply clear that the project is at a very crucial stage and requires a strong initiative to clear all the hurdles by the government. A senior officer explained, “When we discuss matters, we are assured that things will move. But why it has failed to translate into action is what is troubling us”

With pillar work compete at most places, the stage of placing via ducts is now crucial and that requires heavy equipment and lots of space.

Mr Gadgil explained, “We have had a meeting and as partners in a project we have decided to sort out issues.”