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HMR prefers project completion over safety
Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) authorities have not yet sought a safety clearance certification from the Civil Aviation Ministry, the nodal ministry for railway safety. It seems that the ploy is intentional as the validity period of the certification lasts only for six months. According to HMR MD NVS Reddy with the postponement of the Nagole-Mettuguda stretch
Reddy seeks body independent of railways
Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) authorities have not yet sought a safety clearance certification from the Civil Aviation Ministry, the nodal ministry for railway safety. It seems that the ploy is intentional as the validity period of the certification lasts only for six months. According to HMR MD NVS Reddy with the postponement of the Nagole-Mettuguda stretch, they will apply for the safety clearance at a later date.
He added that all the required parameters have been met and that the HMR is in constant touch with the Commissioner of Railway Safety, SC Circle. While the Hyderabad Metro has not hit a road-block with safety clearance issues, metro projects in Chennai and Jaipur are plagued with delay due to certification. The delay in the clearance for Mandi-House-ITO section of Delhi Metro caused a furore at a recent high-level meeting that included Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Railway Board chairman and chief commissioner of railway safety.
At the meeting Naidu expressed concern over the delays, which was resulting in non-utilisation of projects. But in his reacting to the delay in certification, Reddy says that “there is a need for an independent safety certification agency for metro projects. As the projects entail huge investments, even a slight delay could result in cost escalation touching crores.”
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Unlike other projects in the country, the Hyderabad Metro is yet to take off. HMR officials, fearing that safety clearance issues may hamper the progress, support the idea of a separate safety certification agency for metros. Jaipur Railway had sought clearance way back in August last year is yet to get the go-ahead. It is ditto with Chennai metro.
According to a senior official of HMR, the Delhi Metro project in the initial phases did not face issues as the former CMD of DMRC E Sreedharan was a towering personality and had a good standing. However, several metro rail authorities in different parts of the country feel that a separate body is needed which is independent of Railways.
SAFETY CLEARANCE CERTIFICATION
Cumbersome process
Presently, metro projects need to apply for Safety Certification from Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety. An inspection is done and ground level inspection and reports are given to Commissioner of Railway Safety at different circles. In the case of Hyderabad Metro Rail, the Commissioner of Railway Safety, (CRS) SC Circle issues the safety certification.
Delays in other metros
Jaipur Railway sought clearance way in August 2014 is yet to be cleared
Chennai metro too sought for rolling stock clearance in August 2014
Delay in the clearance for Mandi-House-ITO section of Delhi Metro
How will an independent safety certification agency help?
An independent safety certification agency would be able to process applications faster as the staff would be dedicated just for the purpose. The metro rail projects are completely different from the Indian Railway network and entail sophisticated modern technology. Experts in metro rail projects would be a part of the agency and expedite the process of certification.
By:T P Venu
