And Chief Minister Manohar Joshi's site inspection, along with senior bureaucrats last fortnight, has not convinced the navy that the Vikrant hasn't been struck off the list of fast-track projects.

``So far, we only have a commitment for Rs 1 crore that the state government has agreed to pay as fees for the consultant,'' the naval official said. The Vikrant file, which has requested the transfer of the aircraft carrier from the Central government to the state government, has alreadybeen forwarded to the Defence Ministry. But in absence of a firm commitment from the state government, it is yet to be approved.

Significantly, naval officials say no mention is made anymore of the CM's offer to fund at least half of the estimated Rs 76 crore required to convert the carrier into Asia's first floating museum.

Endorsing the project, Joshi had given an assurance of state funding to Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat in Mumbai earlier last year. But times have changed since. ``It will be mostly a private funded project, since the state can't afford to fund it entirely,'' principal secretary (urban development) K Nalinakshan, who also heads the state government's special committee heading the project, said. Nalinakshan said a one-year deadline had been set for executing the project. But naval experts feel this is an unrealistic date and wholly depends upon whether the consultants submit their report by this month. That doesn't seem to be happening in a hurry. Last month, the specialcommittee met for the first time after the site was cleared in July after a year-long battle with Mumbai Port Trust (MPT).

But the committee is yet to select any consultant from a list the navy has submitted to it earlier this year. But the state government has set a six-month deadline for the consultants to submit the project report. Far too long, says the navy. All marine engineering works, including rock blasting and dredging, will take over six months and can only be performed after this year's monsoon. ``It is vital that the consultants submit their report in a month's time, to give us time to finish the work before the next monsoon,'' said a senior naval official.