[sustran] Now, the debate is on how 5.5 km elevated road will be funded

[Vinay Baindur]

In Bangalore a 30 km elevated reoad will be tendered for the umpteenth time
internationally and it cost 1600 crs for a four lane . IT IS UNVIABLE IT
WILL NEVER see the light of day.
But the Pune idea is TERRIBLE and many times costlier
Do we really need flyovers in COPY CAT style of BANGKOK city?

**
*Now, the debate is on how 5.5 km elevated road will be funded*

*Dar Consultants put cost at Rs 1,075 cr; PMC looks to IL&FS for funding
solution *

NitinPatil / AJAY KHAPE

*Posted online: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 at 2308 hrs IST *

Pune, May 6
Ten years ago, the construction of Mumbai-Pune six-lane Expressway
comprising six tunnels and a few bridges cost around Rs 24 crore per km. As
per a proposal submitted by the Indian arm of the UK-based Dar Consultants
it will cost the Pune Municipal Corporation over Rs 195 crore per km for a
5.5-km-long elevated road from Sangam bridge to Mhatre bridge.

As per the proposal, the elevated stretch, with dual three-lane for traffic
plus nine metres for bus carriage, will cost Rs 1,075 crore. But now the PMC
is saying that it is looking beyond Dar Consultants, at Infrastructure
Leasing and Financial Service ( IL&FS) to find funding options for the
project.

Municipal Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi told The Indian Express on
Tuesday, "The planning of the project should also include identifying a
source for raising money for the construction of the road from Kharadi to
Shivne. The report, that Dar Consultants submitted, does not mention the
funding source as the idea was that the project would be funded under
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). But, this project
cannot be executed under JNNURM and the PMC cannot raise this money."

Now, the PMC has appointed IL&FS for giving a feasibility report and
planning of the project, Pardeshi said. The consultant would also have to
suggest ways for raising the money for implementation of the project, he
said.

When contacted, a Dar Consultant officer said the company was unable to
comment on the appointment of a new consultant by PMC for the Kharadi-Shivne
project as it has received no such intimation till date.

"We were told that the project was to be implemented with JNNURM funds, so
there was no question of giving suggestions for raising funds for the
project," he said. "The PMC has not been responding to us despite repeated
follow up for starting the project," he added.

Talk to officers at the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation
(MSRDC), that has done many such projects in the past including many
flyovers in Pune and was even the nodal agency for implementing the
Mumbai-Pune Expressway, and the verdict is clear — that the budget for the
elevated road will easily overshoot Rs 1,075 crore.

"If the elevated road project is planned in the riverbed, the expenses will
rise automatically as laying a solid foundation is necessary. Besides, the
cost for the project is bound to go beyond the estimates, as the prices of
the steel and cement have skyrocketed," executive engineer of MSRDC,
Vidyadhar Sardeshmukh, said.

The gigantic Mumbai-Pune Expressway project, spanning 95 km between the two
cities, was completed at a cost of Rs 2,250 crore, but that was in 2002, he
said.

According to Pardeshi, a road along the riverbank would obstruct the flow of
water during the monsoon and the elevated road is a better solution. "The
elevated road is necessary for environmental reasons as it will not be
possible for road construction on the riverbank without damaging the
environment," he said.