The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, a joint body of the state government and railways, has given a push to the 49-km Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST)-Panvel metro corridor, even as the elevated route along Churchgate-Virar is stuck in limbo.
“We received the draft copy of state support agreement (SSA) prepared by MRVC on Monday,” confirmed Manukumar Shrivastav, principal secretary of state urban development department. The SSA is a broad understanding between the state and railways on how to proceed with the project. The signing of the SSA is considered an important milestone as it assures support from the state government on issues such as land acquisition and shifting of utilities, which delay projects and escalate costs as well.
The railways and state authorities had initially decided to sign the SSA for CST-Panvel elevated corridor based on the SSA for the 63-km-long Churchgate-Virar route. But due to differences over allotting of floor space index (FSI) and the state default liability (SDL), that agreement is yet to be signed. Hence, the authorities decided to delink the CST-Panvel SSA from the Churchgate-Virar corridor.
In a review meeting chaired by state chief secretary JK Banthia on July 25, the government had given MRVC a month to prepare and submit the SSA.
MRVC officials say there is now the issue of allotting FSI to this corridor, as the state government has in-principle agreed to give appropriate FSI. “We have demanded an FSI of 4; the state government has agreed to give appropriate FSI wherever required,” said a senior MRVC official.
The project will be based on public-private partnership model and is estimated to cost Rs.13,000 crore. It will make travel for harbour line commuters faster and more comfortable, as trains will run at the speeds of 60-110 kmph and will be airconditioned.
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