A long journey

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has set yet another enviable record. It has paid a whopping ₹1961 crore to its lender JICA (Japan International Co-operation Agency) as repayment of loan and interest. A commendable achievement, considering that commercial operations began a little over over a decade ago.

Much has been written about the way DMRC, a wholly government-owned entity, has transformed urban commuting. But under the dynamic leadership of E Sreedharan, DMRC has set benchmarks which all similar Metro projects in the pipeline — almost a dozen at the last count — will find hard to match.

Financial discipline is only one aspect of this success. DMRC has also shown how capable leadership on a long-term basis, with a committed workforce, can bring about a work culture which similar infrastructure projects in India are not familiar with.

What worked

DMRC’s experience has shown that a dedicated leadership with long-term commitment to the project is critical. Amongst the new entrants into this crucial piece of infrastructure to boost economic development and improve quality of life in major metros, Hyderabad has, perhaps, been the most successful so far. Bengaluru, despite its sound financial underpinnings, has been the poorest. Continuity — or lack of it — in leadership has, perhaps, been the cause. For instance, since its inception, ‘Namma Metro’ of Bengaluru has seen no less than five managing directors, all of them

babus who opted to advance their careers rather than stay on to see the project through.

Interestingly, both Sreedharan and the present MD Mangu Singh were involved with the project ever since it took off more than a decade ago, ensuring a continuity in policy and execution of work.

Hyderabad Metro, which is the other project on track, has also had the same man at the top for seven years.

More on track

The long list of new Metro projects in the pipeline includes Chennai, Jaipur, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Thiruvananthapuram and Nagpur, all of which opted to have their DPRs (detailed project reports) prepared by the current experts in the field, DMRC. In addition feasibility studies have also been prepared by DMRC for Indore, Amritsar, and Chandigarh, all potential Metro hopefuls awaiting funding.

While Metros at Kochi and Jaipur have chosen to retain the services of a dedicated DMRC team to see their project through, all others have built up their own team from scratch. Unfortunately, once again, the project leaders are birds of passage.

This is hardly the way to manage multi-crore projects having a vital impact on a city’s quality of life. It is high time sufficient attention was paid to the role of leadership in such key infrastructure projects.

The writer is a former Member, Railway Board