The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Queries raised on monorail project

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 16, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Queries raised on monorail project

Special Correspondent

Even before inviting tenders, a Malaysian firm was approached: Karunanidhi

CHENNAI: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Pattali Makkal Katchi have raised serious concern over the proposed monorail project and said they were keenly watching its progress.

In a statement on Sunday, DMK president M. Karunanidhi alleged that even before tenders were invited, a firm in Malaysia had been approached. He had been informed that the project would cost Rs. 20,000 crore. His party would keep a close watch on the developments to sensitise people to the manner in which the Government went about such projects.

He said the fact that the tender appeared before the Governor mentioned it in the Assembly was a pointer to the importance the Government attached to the project.

`Many questions unanswered'

In a statement, PMK founder S. Ramadoss said the project left many questions unanswered. This was a result of the "contradictory" announcements.

Dr. Ramadoss wanted to know whether the project was being implemented in the public-private partnership mode (as mentioned in the Governor's address to the Assembly on January 13) or it was being handed over to a private firm to "design, develop, construct, finance, own, operate, maintain and transfer" as mentioned in the tender. Was it correct to infer that the project was being taken up on the build-operate-transfer basis?

He said the Government must clarify whether the project was in public-private partnership mode and the extent of its participation. It should make it clear who would take care of the administrative duties and how much power the Government and the private builder would wield in such a set-up.

If it was to be constructed as mentioned in the tender, who would be responsible for the security of the 300-km project? Would it also mean that the safety and security of commuters would be taken care of by the builder?

To end the confusion, it would be better if the State Government followed the examples of Delhi NCR and Kolkata. In both places, the project was built with the participation of the Central and State Governments.

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