Bengaluru Metro misses the bus, again!

Bengaluru: What started as a Rs 5,400 crore project for Phase I of the Metro in 2007 with a 2010 deadline is today a huge Rs 20,000 crore project with innumerable extensions of deadlines (the original deadline has been exceeded by five years).

The overall delay in implementation has cost the commuters and the exchequer dearly. A couple of weeks ago the father of the Konkan railway E Sreedharan openly attacked the BMRC, accusing them of ego issues. Today, the crucial Majestic interchange is inching towards completion at a snail’s pace, without which the Phase I can’t be fully operational.

Today Phase 1 has only four stretches open: that is, Reach 1 (MG Road to Byappanahalli), Reach 3 (Sampige Road to Yeshwanthpur), Reach 3a (Yeshwanthpur to Peenya Industry) and 3b (Peenya to Industry to Nagasandra ), of the nine stretches. Failure in meeting the deadlines has become a perennial issue: three deadlines, that is, December 2012, December 2013, March 2015 have been missed. BMRC officials claim that all the stations are ready and it is only the underground section that is holding them up.

Again, tenders were called to airlift a coach for trial at Reach 4, the south line from Rashtreeya Vidyalaya Road to Puttenahalli (3.9 km). However, till now it has not been confirmed. Vasanth Rao, general manager (finance) says, “The technical evaluation is going on currently to find out if at all such airlifting is possible there. However, currently the main focus is to open reach 2, then we will concentrate on the south line.”

Krishna TBM, which is tunneling between K. R. market and Chickpet stations 417m (278 rings) has been completed, 10.5m (7 rings) remain to reach Chickpet station. After reaching Chickpet,  this TBM will be launched for the second tunnel between Chickpet and Majestic stations.

Kaveri TBM, which is tunneling between Chickpet and Majestic stations has completed 336m (224 rings). A remaining 404m (269 rings) are still left to reach Majestic station. TBM is below Maruti Plaza building near Vijaylaxmi theatre in Chickpet. Margarita TBM, which is tunneling between Majestic station and North Ramp, has completed 786m (524 rings), 171m (114rings) remain to reach North Ramp. Finally, Godavari TBM which is tunneling between North Ramp and Majestic station has finished 360m (240 rings) and 606m (404 rings) remain to reach Majestic station.

The overall delay in implementation has cost the commuters and the exchequer dearly

Contractors must be penalized for delays: experts

However, Godavari, which is under repair, is still stuck underground and has not been functioning. BMRC officials say the machine is likely to be operational in a matter of 10-15 days as the cutter head is being fixed.

Urban expert Vivek Menon says, “The biggest problem with a project of this kind is that it needs a comprehensive schedule that holds the contractors liable in case of delay. Every milestone should have incentives and disincentives. They should be penalized in case of delay, after all this is public money they are wasting. In the absence of such a structure, it is impossible to deliver. Someone seems to be responsible here for the cost escalation and huge schedule over-run. It must have been completed on time.”

He adds, “We are not able to have a transit- oriented plan. We need a transportation commission who directly reports to the CM and is responsible for disbursement of funds, monitoring and coordination among various agencies. That is when we will get an amalgamated network.”

Many experts believe construction of the metro in isolation from other modes of transportation will not serve any purpose. The demand for commuter rail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is still pending, while our BMTC buses are ill-equipped to serve the growing need. The demand from commuters has been increasing on a massive scale as compared to the development of the metro.

M.A. Siraj, member of Praja, says, “Even on completion of all its phases, it would cater to only 1 million of the 23 million commuter trips a day that would be taking place in the City by then. The BMTC is expected to be sharing another 4 to 5 million trips. This still leaves a gap of nearly 8 million trips that would be looking for some mass transit system. In its absence, the people will have the only option of continuing to use their private vehicles which are the most inefficient mode of urban transport for a city of the size of Bengaluru.”

Siraj adds, “The metro was showcased with such zeal as the ‘remedy for all transportation woes of the city’ during recent years that no other option has found even a modicum of acceptance with the authorities. Be it Suburban Rail, BRTS, revamp of BMTC operations or improvement of pedestrian/cyclist corridors, none has found a place among the priorities of the State Government.”

BMRC hasn’t learnt from its mistakes

It looks like BMRC has not learnt anything from the mistakes of Phase 1. They claimed Phase 2 land acquisition would start soon, however, there seem to be no substantial development so far.

Chinappa, GM (land) from BMRCL says, “The land acquisition process from Mysuru Road to Kengeri is under way. It is in the final stages. We have sent the notification to the government, once the government approves it, we will start acquisition from Mysuru Road to Kengeri. In Whitefield area, joint measurement of the land has to be done, a final notification has to be given and then we will inform the government. As and when we get approval from the government, we will start the land acquisition process.”

Sanjeev V. Dyamannavar from Praja RAAG points out, “BMRCL has still not come out with a plan as far as Phase 2 is concerned. The people of Whitefield need the metro but they have no idea where it is going to come up exactly. They need to make the alignment public and make provisions so that traffic is not affected. They need to have a plan.”

The cabinet approved Phase 2, paving the way for further improved public transport system in the city. With a total investment cost of almost Rs 26,405.14 crore the 72-km stretch of the project is expected to be a boon for the IT professionals in the city.

Meanwhile, the metro is looking to raise funds through private and international firms besides increasing FSI building. It is looking to garner close to Rs 1,500 crore in Phase II from private builders.

These things take time: Pradeep Singh Kharola, MD, BMRCL

What is the status of Phase 1?
 
The work is going on. We are targeting March 2016 as the completion date. Now we will open reach 2, in fact we are looking throw open this stretch for commuters in less than a month’s time.
 
Why hasn’t Majestic interchange work been taken up on priority as suggested by E Shreedharan?
 
Those are old stories which I cannot comment on.

Is Majestic interchange the major challenge for BMRC?
 
It is not only the Majestic interchange that has been a challenge. There have been a lot of tunneling challenges due to the rough terrain of the city. All challenges have been discussed thoroughly and we should complete the entire phase as per our plan.

What is the progress on Phase 2?
 
Land has been notified in Phase 2. Awards are in progress and in the final stages. The payments will start from September onwards.
 
What about the study on airport connectivity?
 
The RITES have already completed the feasibility study and they have given us several alternatives, we are working on that.