MMRDA purchase of Metro rolling stocks on ice

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development (MMRDA) is on track for completing its civil works for two Metro corridors in the city, but the authority has claimed that it has no money to procure rolling stocks (coaches) to run the corridors. This is because international banks are not giving loans to the authority as the state government has declined to be the guarantor for obtaining loans from foreign banks.

The MMRDA has claimed that as the civil works for the two corridors, namely the Dahisar-DN Nagar Metro-2B and the Dahisar east- Andheri east Metro-7 corridor, would be completed by the end of 2017 or the start of 2018 but it needs to start the process of procuring rolling stocks right now. However, it is unable to do so because of an impasse in the loan-obtaining process.

The MMRDA has Rs 17,000 crore in its bank accounts from which it is funding civil works for Metro projects in the city. However, it requires an additional Rs 7,500 crore approximately to procure rolling stocks that it plans to raise from obtaining loan from Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Pravin Darade, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “Ideally we should be floating bids for procuring rolling stocks now but the finance department’s reluctance to act as a guarantor is creating a hindrance for us to obtain loans.”

Mr Darade added, “Banks are ready to give a loan directly but the Central government’s department of economic affairs does not allow direct loans to the authority and requires the state government to act as the guarantor. For this, we have requested the Centre to make changes in the rule after which the loan could directly be obtained by the authority.”