Probe faults DMRC for IGI Metro mess

August 8, 2013

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NEW DELHI: A month after Delhi Metro took over the operations of the Airport Metro Express, it faces a tough task ahead. The urban development ministry has handed over the report of inquiry committee set up to fix responsibility for the closure of the airport link to the DMRC board and asked it to take action fast. The report has found not only the concessionaire and contractors but also the Metro officials responsible.

The two-member committee had found deficiencies on the part of various agencies, said minister of state for urban development Deepa Dasmunshi in a written reply in Lok Sabha. These agencies include the concessionaire, DAMEPL, construction contractor (M/s IJM-IJMI JV), airport line consultant (PCI-PBI-JARTS-TONICHI- RITES), detailed design consultants M/s Systra and also DMRC, she said. In its first report, the panel had identified Kumar Keshav, then DMRC director (projects), for “system failure”. It had also held responsible five officials—then chief project manager O P Singh, then deputy chief engineers Ravi Kapoor and J P Vashist, deputy general manager ( finance) Sanjeev Mehta and assistant manager Deepak Patiar — for being involved in the contract awarded to IJM-IJMI joint venture. Keshav no longer works with the Metro. He worked with Delhi Metro for a decade.

He executed important projects like the Dwarka, Inderlok- Mundka and Central Secretariat-Badarpur lines. He was promoted as director (projects and planning) in December 2009

The minister also said after the report was submitted, one member of the committee submitted a supplementary note for fixing responsibility also on Mangu Singh, then director (works), and R N Joshi, then director (finance). But the other member felt there was no reason for the top management to interfere in the day-to-day working and the responsibility attributed to the top management of DMRC was not justified.

In her reply, the minister said DMRC had spent over Rs 14.03 crore on repairing the bearings and intended to recover this cost from the construction contractor and partially from DAMEPL. Dasmunshi said the report was referred to the Central Vigilance Commission, and according to its advice, it has been forwarded to DMRC.

In response to another question in Lok Sabha related to the Airport Metro Express corridor, Dasmunshi said that Reliance Infra had invoked the termination clause and claimed termination payments from DMRC.She said that the DMRC had also invoked the arbitration mechanism available within the concession agreement to resolve disputes between both the parties.The fate of DMRC managing director Mangu Singh and seven serving and former functionaries now depends on the DMRC board.

Source-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com