Despite clearance, BMRCL delaying metro work?

BANGALORE: While the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) continues to maintain that impending clearances from the Railway department might delay the metro construction work, it appears that the Railways has both officially and unofficially sanctioned most of the projects.Speaking to the members of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) on Saturday, N Sivasailam, Managing Director of BMRCL said that there was a problem with the railway clearances. “Yes, there is an issue with the Railways and we will have to take it up. The Chief Minister has written to the Union Minister for Railways to request an expeditious clearance,” he said.Earlier, BMRCL in its November newsletter had said that six impending clearances might delay the completion of Phase 1 work.  Countering that, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), South Western Railway, Bangalore, in a letter on November 8, said that out of the six cases, the Railways has allowed work both officially and unofficially in most cases.The South Western Railway, Bangalore Division, has also recently sanctioned the construction of the 66 metre span crossing over at the Malleswaram Railway Station. It appears that the only impending clearance is the official permission to construct a skywalk at Baiyyapanahalli from the metro station to the ticket counter on the other side of the railway line.As far as the remaining four cases are concerned, the Railways has said that BMRCL has continued the construction even without permission. The DRM also said that the Railways has not stopped any work. The letter states ‘the local railway administration, at its own risk has allowed the work and the work is in full swing without any obstruction’.It is believed that the drawings submitted by BMRCL for the skywalk construction at Baiyyapanahalli were in fact faulty. This was the case with the 66 metre span at Malleswaram too but BMRCL submitted corrected drawings to the Railway Department in no time.Despite receiving almost all the clearances, it remains unclear why BMRCL continues to maintain that there is an issue with the Railways.