Delhi Metro looks to fast-track Phase III amidst plaudits on 15th aniversary

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) came for praise from Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Tejendra Khanna, who described it as a ''24-carat organisation'' and urged that the corporation provide guidance to other bodies to improve their performace.

He said the DMRC had completed projects ahead of schedule but it would render greater service to the nation if it created a consultancy wing for assessing the organisational competence of bodies in other sectors and providing guidance on how these could become similar 24-carat organisations. The lieutenant governor was speaking at a function to mark the 15th foundation day of DMRC.

DMRC managing director E Sreedharan reaffirmed the on-schedule completion of Phase II lines in October 2010. He said that all lines were progressing well on track.
He added that the corporation had prepared a blueprint for Phase III of the metro spread across 120km and hoped that the clearances for these would be obtained soon. He said that the corporation was considering starting the construction even before the completion of Phase II so that the resources, employees and contractors could be utilised to the fullest.

He said that about 37km of the metro would be added by the end of this year and the Indraprastha-Yamuna bank section would open on 10 May, Yamuna Bank – Noida in August, Inderlok-Mundka in September and Yamuna Bank-Anand Vihar in December 2009.

The corporation also presented the 'best metro station award' to Barakhamba Road Metro station for handling about 20,000 passengers daily and still being well maintained through the day with the best customer support. Other awards presented included the Metro Man of he Year and Best contractor in addition to 21 other awards for outstanding performance. Also present on the occasion were secretary, ministry of urban development and chairman, DMRC, M Ramachandran, Delhi Metro directors, officers and staff.

Meanwhile the GMR group-led consortium that manages New Delhi's Indira Gandhi Inernational Airport has reportedly approached the civil aviation ministry for extension in the time to pay Rs448 crore to DMRC for construction of a metro rail corridor linking airport terminals to the city centre.

The group says it would be able to pay 10 per cent of the cost of building the 23km metro rail link. Delhi International Airport (DIAL) is reportedly seeking rescheduling of the payment as it expects significant shortfall in realisation from proposed hospitality project.

This deferment will likely delay one of the most prestigious metro rail projects which is scheduled to be commercially operational ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

According to an official the issue of deferment is expected to be taken up in DIAL's board meeting later this week.