KANNUR: Delay in land acquisition and the regulations imposed on quarrying were causing problems for the completion of the Kochi Metro Rail project, said E Sreedharan, Principal Advisor to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
Some hiccups in land acquisition were creating problems for Kochi Metro at present. Besides, the new regulations imposed on quarrying were also posing a challenge for the project, Sreedharan said on the sidelines of the national seminar on ‘Energy, Environment and Systems’ organised at the Kannur Government Engineering College here on Friday.
“I wrote to the Chief Minister the other day asking to solve the crisis posed by the regulations on quarrying and hope to find a solution soon,” he said.
Despite the present challenges, E Sreedharan was optimistic about commissioning the 18-km stretch of the metro line from Aluva to Maharaja’s College, by December 2016.
Asked whether the delay would escalate the cost, Sreedharan said that the project could be completed without much increase in cost.
“In the beginning we had proposed to complete the project in four years. But, later, as per the request of the chief minister, a new plan was chalked out to complete the project in three years. Given the problems in land acquisition, we may not be able to complete it in three years. But it won’t affect the estimated cost,” he added.
Responding to questions on the possibility of a monorail in Kannur, Sreedharan said that the project might not be feasible. “Monorail also demands huge resources and may not be feasible for Kannur,” he observed.
“It is high time the state seriously thought about attaining self-sufficiency in the energy sector, depending more on non-conventional energy sources, especially solar power. A piece of legislation should be brought in to make solar power plants compulsory for all new houses,” Sreedharan said.