The Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) III has hit a roadblock with the Niti Aayog (which has replaced the Planning Commission) questioning the railway ministry as to how it would get money needed for the Rs11,440-crore project after a report was submitted by the latter to the Aayog on November 22.
According to sources, the commission said that the railway ministry reasoned that the hike in monthly passes in June last year was due to Mumbai locals incurring losses of Rs14,000 crore every year. “The Aayog has basically asked the railway ministry to provide a sustainable and practical financial plan as to how and from whom and at what rate of interest the railway would be borrowing and if they do take money from outside, which is usually the World Bank, will it be feasible,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, railway officials had met World Bank managing director Mulyani Indrawati when she visited the city in September and asked for a loan of '8,000 crore out of the estimated cost of Rs11,440 crore for MUTP III.
The Aayog has asked officials to think out of the box and not stick with the World Bank. It has asked officials whether terms will be amicable if the project is implemented under the public-private partnership model (PPP). “There is fear when entering a PPP on the part of the government and private investors about getting short-changed, so the Aayog has asked the railway ministry how this would be a balanced venture,” the official added.
During his visit to the city on November 9, Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu had said that the MUTP III report would be presented to the commission and then sent to the Cabinet (hopefully in the winter session) for final approval.
Big works under MUTP III include doubling of tracks between Panvel and Karjat, an elevated rail-link between Airoli and Kalyan, quadrupling of lines between Virar and Dahanu, and finally, procurement of more local trains.
