MUMBAI, May 13: While the state government blames the Centre for the delay IN sanctioning railway projects which resulted in the World Bank withdrawing from the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) II railway authorities here claim that work on many under the MUTP-II are on and say only local issues are holding them up.

For example, work on the laying of the fifth and sixth line between Kurla and Bhandup has been stalled because the state government could not decide on resettling dwellers of encroachments along railway tracks. Of the Rs 10 crore budgeted for the project, last year the railways could spend only Rs 3.5 crore.

This year, an additional Rs 10 crore has been budgeted and can be used provided the rehabilitation question is cleared, say railway officials.

``A piece of land has been identified at Kanjur Marg for the slum-dwellers. But it has not been notified yet,'' said a top official, requesting anonymity. A meeting on the issue called by the Urban Development Ministry today was subsequently cancelled. ``It is not that we cannot continue with our work if the World Bank withdraws from the projects. But the local issues have to be sorted out,'' the official added.

The MUTP-II is a major multi-pronged World Bank-sponsored transport project aimed at extensively easing traffic and transportation in the city. An amount of Rs 2,000 crore has been set aside for the railways alone in the Rs 3,000-crore project as it's a non-polluting, mass transport system.

The World Bank, however, wrote to the state government in March saying it could not support the MUTP-II in the absence of the latter's commitment and an ``institutional framework which would implement the projects effectively''. During a press conference early this month, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi blamed the Centre for delaying the rail projects. But a subsequent letter from the state government to the World Bank remains unanswered.

The Bank's sudden decision has baffled railway officials who say they had been working on schedule with the Bank and are already implementing some of the works that were prioritised in the numerous studies undertaken till date.The Bank had sought four project-preparatory analyses: a financial and institutional study of combined suburban rail operations, and reports on rail system simulation, development of specifications for re-manufacturing of EMU rakes, and conversion from DC to AC electrification. Of these, the first is complete and the second is nearing completion.

``It was only in April that the financial and institutional study was completed and sent to the Centre. Foreign consultants were on the job, and they work on schedule,'' said the official. In fact, the recent announcement of the formation of the Mumbai Rail Development Corporation (MRDC) to handle suburban projects separately was a result of this study.

Among the other works that were mentioned by the World Bank and are on besides the laying of the sixth corridor between Kurla and Bhandup are the laying of the fifth and sixth lines between Santacruz and Borivli, the conversion of nine-car rakes to 12-car ones, reduction of headway (interval between trains) on the Central and Western lines from four to three minutes by re-spacing traffic signals, providing additional sub-stations for power, and procuring new EMU rakes.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.