THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition parties took up cudgels on behalf of E Sreedharan in the Assembly and flayed the alleged attempts of the LDF government to oust him and the DMRC from the Light Metro rail projects mooted for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode by the former UDF government under the guardianship of the ‘Metroman’.
“If the public suspects that the government’s eagerness to demoralise Sreedharan and show him the door is for roping in new players and have a pie in the mega crore project, could anyone blame them?” asked Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, leading a walkout, in which KC(M) legislators and BJP MLA O Rajagopal also joined.
No question of shelving the project: Pinarayi Vijayan
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while replying to an adjournment motion notice given by K Muraleedharan, repeated the same stand in his reply to VS Sivakumar’s submission the other day, stating that there is no question of shelving the Light Metro projects and the government is committed “to implement it in a transparent manner”.
Maintaining that the government has high regards for Sreedharan, Pinarayi, however, admitted that he was not able to give an appointment to the ‘Metroman’ due to “heavy workload” but has no hesitation in meeting him.
“There is no difference of opinion with Sreedharan, nor is there a plan to exclude him. It is true that there were some procedural delays and the government was not able to keep up with the pace of interest shown by him. The only hurdle is availing the Centre’s sanction for the revised detailed project report (DPR) as mandated by new rules. Otherwise, the Centre won’t sanction the agreed `1,278 crore, which is a big risk factor for the state,” he said.
On Muraleedharan’s query whether there are any moves to float global competitive tenders so as to exclude the proven DMRC and dump Sreedharan at the behest of some top bureaucrats, the Chief Minister was silent.
“Many state governments are vying for an audience with Sreedharan and source his expertise and involvement in rail projects. Kerala is indebted to him well before the Kochi Metro project became a reality, for the acclaimed role he had played in making the Konkan railway a reality and thus giving wings to the development aspirations of the state, especially the Malabar region. What was wrong if the CM had given him an appointment and cleared the air instead of forcing him to go to the extent of declaring that he will not retract from the decision to bid adieu from the Light Metro project?” Muraleedharan asked.
Stirs planned
Later, UDF leaders led by Chennithala told a press meet that vested interests behind the moves of the government to drive away Sreedharan will be exposed. Muraleedharan and Sivakumar, representing Thiruvananthapuram, and M K Muneer from Kozhikode warned that people from all walks of life will be lined up for stirs in the two cities if the government continued to play its hide and seek game in the Light Metro projects.
Sreedharan’s exit a major setback to state’s development rhythm: Chandy
Kottayam: Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday said Metroman E Sreedharan’s exit from the Light Metro project proposed in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram will seriously impact the development momentum which the state gained post the successful completion of the Kochi Metro Phase-I. “The state government should not have sent back Sreedharan in disgrace. He played a pivotal role in development activities here. It was his intervention and leadership that helped in completing the first phase of Kochi Metro in four years. He was able to complete the project without disrupting the heavy traffic of Kochi town,” Chandy told reporters.
No need of Light Metro project in Capital city, says Mayor
T’Puram : Even as controversies over E Sreedharan moving out of the Light Metro projects are rife, Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V K Prasanth has come out against the implementation of the Light Metro project in the state capital. The city does not really require mega projects like Light Metro which involves huge cost and large-scale land acquisition, said the Mayor. He was speaking after inaugurating the foundation stone-laying ceremony of a foot overbridge (FoB) at Vazhuthacaud. According to Prasanth, the present road and traffic conditions should be improved first before going for projects involving several thousands of crores.