Central nod for metro rail likely in 15 days

KOCHI: The Central Government will give the nod for the proposed Kochi metro rail project soon. An assurance in this regard was given by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the team, led by Union Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies K V Thomas and Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany, that met him at his office in New Delhi on Wednesday.  “We have urged the Prime Minister to speed up the procedures to give sanction for the metro rail project. He told us that the nod is expected to be given within 15 days,” Tony Chammany told Express. He said that apart from the metro rail, they also discussed the necessity of a suburban rail in Kochi with the Prime Minister. “We told him about the need for suburban rail in Kochi which will offer better connectivity to the outskirts of the city. And he assured that though it cannot be immediately granted permission, the Centre will consider the request for allotting suburban rail to the city,” Chammany added. The team also discussed the necessity of floating an Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority for managing and integrating all modes of transport in the city. “We also bring to his notice the projects, including the construction of flyovers at Edappally,Palarivattam, Vyttila and Kundannoor junctions,” he said. Standing committee chairpersons including T K Ashraf, R Thyagarajan, Soumini Jain, Essy Joseph, Ratnamma Raju, Corporation Opposition leader K J Jacob and councillor M Anilkumar were the other members of the team.