“The RITES has communicated its inability to carry out the feasibility study of monorail for Pune metropolitan area,” Ratnakar Gaikwad, Commissioner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), told The Indian Express on Tuesday.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been told about the RITES’ inability and the civic administration has been urged to look for other consultants to carry out the feasibility study, Gaikwad said. As the MMRDA has shortlisted three out of seven contractors for constructing the monorail in Mumbai, Gaikwad said the PMC too could take their help for the planning of the monorail in the Pune metropolitan area.
When contacted, municipal commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi admitted that RITES had backed out from conducting the feasibility study of monorail for the city.
“We will soon start the bidding process for inviting expert agencies to carry out the feasibility study of the monorail,” he said admitting that it will take time for appointment of the required agency for the specialised job.
The PMC will also try and persuade RITES to take up the job, Pardeshi said. “The RITES has claimed dues of around Rs 15 lakh for providing service to PMC in the past for planning of the city’s High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR) and the municipal corporation is planning to pay it immediately,” he said.
The option of monorail as alternative mode of transportation was explored to ease the traffic congestion for Pune metropolitan area on the lines of what has been planned for Mumbai.
The PMC has shown its eagerness to implement it, Pardeshi saying, “We don’t have to acquire the land for developing roads and tracks. And this will save time and money.”