Thiruvananthapuram: As details emerged that a letter sent by a senior bureaucrat from Kerala may have led to the recent confusion over the future of the Kochi Metro Rail project, the state government has decided to seek an explanation from him.
Controversy erupted last week after it was revealed that the former managing director of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), Tom Jose, had written to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), seeking clarity on the powers of DMRC’s former chief E. Sreedharan. Among the questions asked in the letter is whether DMRC hac given authority to Sreedharan to oversee the work of Kochi Metro.
Tom Jose had addressed the letter to federal urban development secretary Sudhir Krishna, in which he pointed out that clarity on this matter would help the state government in proceeding with the Kochi Metro project. The letter is seen by many as a veiled attempt to keep Sreedharan out of the project. The letter reportedly asks four questions regarding the powers of Sreedharan, who is a retired bureaucrat. The letter was sent even as the Kerala government was seeking the participation of both Sreedharan and DMRC in the Kochi Metro project.
As the row over the letter gathered steam, chief minister Oommen Chandy said today (Sunday) that the government would seek an explanation from Jose regarding the letter. The Opposition Left Democratic Front has seized the opportunity to criticise the government, stating that the government is trying to sideline DMRC and Sreedharan from the project, thus scuttling it.
Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan said the federal and state governments were together conspiring against the project, adding that he now felt vindicated in not attending the inaugural of the project last month when prime minister Manmohan Singh was in the state. There are also reports that some of Chandy’s cabinet colleagues are also furious about the letter reportedly written by Jose to the federal urban development secretary.
