Conspiracy to sabotage Kochi Metro project alleged

BJP leader and former Union Minister O Rajagopal on Thursday  alleged that a conspiracy was hatched by the politico-bureaucratic nexus to sabotage the implementation of the Kochi Metro project.

 He told reporters here that someone in the ruling party was trying to derail the project using bureaucrats as tools.

The delay caused in the implementation of the project will push up the cost of the project which would ultimately benefit the commission agents, he said.

 Rajagopal said that even after the intervention by the number two in the Union Cabinet for expediting the implementation of the project, it has not moved an inch forward.

In that case, there must be someone more powerful in the government and the Congress party trying to hamper the progress of the project, he said. 

He said that in case of E Sreedharan coming to the helm of the project, there would not be any role for commission agents. All political parties   wanted the leadership of Sreedharan to lead the project.

The Chief Minister and the Power Minister had even reiterated that Sreedharan would lead the project under the supervision of the DMRC, Rajagopal said. He pointed out that the DMRC was under the Union Urban Development Ministry and Minister Kamal Nath had a role to play.

The BJP leader said that the JICA team which visited Kochi had also  expressed satisfaction over the preparation for the project. However, the ‘’commission factor’’ was hampering the project, he alleged.