KOLKATA: The Indian Railways is unhappy with the pace of work in Kolkata Metro which is reflected in the average fund allocation of just around Rs 400 crore every year for the last three years.

The anticipated cost of 64 km of the new Metro corridor was around Rs 8,639 crore, but the total spending on the project to date is only Rs 2,018 crore in the last seven years that is mere Rs 288 crore a year. A top railway ministry source said with the current pace of spending and execution, it will take another 17 years for the project to be completed.

The corridor, announced in the Rail Budget 2010-11 by then railway minister Mamata Baneerjee, was imposed on the national transporter. Under pressure from the top, the railways entrusted the task to PSU--Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), which had no experience of Metro construction. The corridors include Baranagar-Barrackpore & Dakshineshwar (14.5km), Dum Dum airportNew Garia via Rajarhat (32 km) and Joka-BBD Bagh via Majer hat (16.72km). A railway official said, “On an average only Rs 400 crore is being allocated every year and considering the current trend the Kolkata Metro will take another 17 years to complete the project with balance cost of around Rs 6,621crore.“

He said, “The physical progress is very disappointing.“

Out of six Metro corridors, work hasn't started on Baranagar-Barrackpore and the status of the other five corridors too is no better where physical progress is ranging bteween 12% to 37%, an official said.

Despite reservations from many in the rail bureaucracy , the projects were handed over to RVNL ignoring vehement protest by Kolkata Metro, also an arm of the Indian Railways which built the first Metro in Kolkata and is also operating them successfully . Top mandarins in Rail Bhawan are upset with the slow pace of work as the doubts expressed at time of handing over work to RVNL are coming true after six years.

Officials fear the poor pace of execution will lead to time overruns and cost overruns, causing a big hole in strained finances of the railways.

