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Bombay rail development body to become a reality

The much-awaited memorandum of understanding for the Mumbai Railway Vikas Nigam will be signed between the railway ministry and Maharashtra government on Tuesday.

The MoU will be signed by Railway Minister Nitish Kumar, representing the ministry, and Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, on behalf of the Maharashtra government. The corporation being set up will start executing the projects of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project-phase II, and will enable to secure a World Bank loan for the prestigious project.

A senior state government official said that the MRVN is being set up with an equity base of Rs 250 million. While the railway ministry will provide 51 per cent of the equity base, the state government will invest 49 per cent initially.

The official said that the MRVN will have 11 members on its board, who will be responsible for executing the railway projects in Mumbai city and the suburban sections. Projects like construction of overbridges, will, however be undertaken by the state public works department.

The autonomous body will function both on the Central Railway and Western Railway as a corporation and will basically work for improving the suburban railway system -- considered the lifeline of this busy island city.

Soon after coming into affect, the Nigam is expected to undertake 12 projects on the CR and WR sections.

A CR official said that initially on the CR, the corporation will take up projects for respacing of the signals, laying of extra tracks along the suburban section, lengthening of platforms, and acquisition of additional rakes including 12-car rakes.

A WR official said that the priority projects on the WR includes laying two extra lines in the far north suburban section, and creating two extra lines for long distance in the suburban region, besides inducting more 12-coach rakes.

Since the last two years, the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government in the state has been demanding the setting up of a corporation for taking up projects for improvement in the suburban section. Moreover, the World Bank reportedly denied granting a loan for the MUTP phase II project until and unless a corporation was formed.

In April, a senior World Bank official who was in the country to review the World Bank projects, held a talk with Joshi, state Chief Secretary P Subramanayam, and other senior officials about the loan for the projects.

It may be recalled that the BJP had taken up the issue of suburban transport of this metropolis, and was a part of their agenda to improve the suburban system. Ram Naik, who is now the minister of state for railways, has earlier taken up the matter with respective government and railway officials.

Joshi and Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde has held several founds of talks with former prime minister I K Gujral and former railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan regarding the setting up of the corporation and the then Union cabinet had granted the approval last year.

But with the collapse of the United Front government and the subsequent elections, a formal decision could not be taken. After the BJP-led coalition government took over, it was decided to sign the MoU with the state government at the earliest.

UNI