Envisioned as part of a public education programme, the centre will be jointly manned by representatives of the Reliance Energy Ltd-led consortium and MMRDA. Located adjacent to REL’s customer care centre in Saki Naka, not far from where the Saki Naka Metro Station will be constructed, the centre will be a single window for citizens to interact directly with company officials and obtain information regarding the project.

However, while construction of the way structure and stations is slated to begin at least in January 2008, the MMRDA is behind schedule on handing over possession of two crucial plots of land to Mumbai Metro One—one located at Wadala for a casting yard where pre-cast segments can be prepared and the other at D N Nagar for a car depot.

“Six months from March was the timeline stipulated in the agreement signed between the state government and the special purpose vehicle,” admitted an MMRDA official. “That deadline was for sorting out the issue of rehabilitation of project-affected persons as well as for handing over right of way for construction.”

At 1,38,000 sq metres, the car depot plot located between D N Nagar and Versova is to include amenities for stabling, routine and periodic maintenance of the rolling stock, a workshop as well as offices and storage space. A spokesperson for Mumbai Metro One said the company has received financial bids for at least two major contracts—the rolling stock and the civil works—but cannot open the bids and award contracts until the handover of the plots and the right of way is complete. Soon, financial bids for a signalling system, a communication system, power supply, electricals and an automatic fare collection system will also be in.