Insisting that the huge Delhi Metro network needed proper upkeep, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has written to Defence Minister A.K Antony seeking that DMRC not be given work outside the capital at present.
Dikshit had shot off a letter to Antony, who heads the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Mass Rapid Transit System, after media reports regarding announcements made by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments related to expansion of Metro network in these states upset her, official sources said.
In her letter to Antony, Dikshit is learnt to have said that the announcements were made without the approval of the GoM and without consulting her government, which has a 50 per cent share in the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
She also said Phase I of Delhi Metro was completed about a decade ago and its condition was deteriorating and in need of attention for maintenance and repair, according to sources.
Dikshit also pointed out that the DMRC was already working on the demanding task of executing Phase III of the Metro’s expansion in the capital, along with preparing a Detailed Project Report for Phase IV, they said.
She wrote that a monorail project in the capital will also be entrusted to the DMRC once preliminary studies are done.
In the letter written last month, the Chief Minister has told Antony that maintaining the huge infrastructure of the Delhi Metro is a demanding task and diverting its resources to neighbouring towns may adversely affect its functioning and maintenance in the capital, they said.
Dikshit has also asked Antony to advise the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana not to make announcements related to expansion of DMRC network in these states without consulting her government, they said.
Sources said Dikshit has also apprised Antony of an earlier discussion in a meeting where it had been brought up that the DMRC should not be given too much work outside Delhi.
With the Delhi elections scheduled later this year, the performance and development of the Delhi Metro, which the government has been showcasing as a major achievement, is likely to play on the Chief Minister’s mind, a well-placed source said.
Delhi Metro is the first network in the country and following its success, several states have been demanding similar networks in their own cities. The DMRC’s expertise and resources are being provided to many of them.
Last week, DMRC signed a memorandum of understanding with the >Kochi Metro Rail Limited for building Phase I of the metro network in the city.