Hyderabad Metro: L&T refutes allegations regarding graft
Larsen and Toubro refuted allegations made by a political party that it had paid kickbacks to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister to bag the prestigious Hyderabad Metro Rail project. This political party had alleged that India’s private sector engineering and construction conglomerate had paid a large sum of money to the AP government to get additional land for the project. It was also demanded that the work be stopped, pending enquiry.
Charges thrown to the wind:
Addressing a press conference, the managing director and CEO of L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd set the record straight by stating that no money was paid to the government for bagging the project or for getting additional land sanctioned in this regard. To put to rest allegations regarding malpractices, he stressed that all documents related to the project were open to public scrutiny. He also stated that L & T would not stoop to such a level, considering that it is one of the most renowned national companies in the engineering and construction business, with more than 75 years of experience.
Most of the project land already acquired:
Revealing details of the land allocated by the government for the project, he informed that out of the 212 acres of land required at depots, the government had already handed over 210 acres of land. Of the remaining 57 acres of land that was required at metro stations, only 34.5 acres was handed over. The remaining land was being handed over at two alternate locations. He also clarified that the government would possess ownership of the land. Following a 35-year concession period, the land along with the developed property allocated for the project would be returned to the government. Apart from the Rs.14,132 crore main capital cost, L&T was also investing another Rs. 2,200 crore for the first phase of Transit Oriented Development (ToD) or property development along the metro project corridor.
Work progressing smoothly:
He clarified that such false accusations against the company would not deter it from achieving its objective of completing work on the first phase of 8-km of the project by December, 2014, and commencing operations on March 21, 2015. Meanwhile, work was progressing briskly on the 72-km long Metro Rail project along three busy corridors of Hyderabad. Already, hundreds of pillars have been installed along different stretches like the Nagole-Mettuguda-Begumpet, Kukatpally-Ameerpet, LB Nagar-Malakpet, and Nampally stretches. Considering that it is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.14,132 crore, the Hyderabad Metro Rail can be said to be one of the biggest Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the world. Already, L & T and the government of Andhra Pradesh have jointly invested Rs.4,000 crore in the project.
Pending land acquisition issues to be sorted soon:
Currently, there are issues relating to land acquisition that are being addressed. However, they are expected to be sorted out at an opportune time, when the right-of-way for the project becomes required. About 204 acres of land required at the terminal points and majority of the properties required for transit-oriented development have been acquired. With regards to acquisition of about 22 acres of government land as well as certain other properties, efforts are underway to acquire them.
