KOCHI: On Tuesday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) issued a statement that agency will take action against the contractors-Cheriyan Varkey Constructions- following the incident in which an iron rod fell on a moving car. “The incident of an iron rod falling on a moving car and damaging the windscreen at MG Road Metro construction site on Monday has caused concern for DMRC.
After a detailed discussion on the incident, DMRC has taken this issue very seriously and action is being taken against the contractor for the serious safety lapse as per the contract conditions,” according to the statement.
After a detailed discussion on the incident, DMRC has taken this issue very seriously and action is being taken against the contractor for the serious safety lapse as per the contract conditions,” according to the statement.
On Monday evening a four-meter-long iron rod fell on the car driven by Fort Kochi ASI Sukumaran. Though the car suffered major damages, the family inside the car had a miraculous escape. Following the incident, criticism was raised by many against the lack of safety measures by the contractors. Also last month, a cement block fell upon an autorickshaw near the Lissie Station.
Controversy over DMRC’s role:
In December 2011, Kerala Minister V.K. Ebrahim Kunju announced that the work would be offered by global tender. And the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)Â former Managing Director E.Sreedharan said that he would not be interested in participating unless the DMRC was involved. And the citing the examples of metros in Bangalore and Chennai, he also said that they decided to take up the work on their own but had to depend on the DMRC for many things.
Some government ministers and IAS official alleged that Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) norms do not allow the awarding of a contract to an agency which did the consultancy for a project. Even though the DMRC principal adviser E. Sreedharan has stated that the CVC norms would not apply in this case, as the contract is between two government agencies. Apart from this, there is some another issue for the metro was that DMRC had to obtain the permission of its director’s board to undertake projects outside Delhi.
On 8 January 2013, after a high level meeting attended by Oommen Chandy (then Chief Minister), Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, Union Minister K.V. Thomas, DMRC Principal Advisor E. Sreedharan, Union Urban Development Secretary Sudheer Krishna, Chief Secretary Jose Syriac, KMRL MD Elias George, DMRC MD Mangu Singh, Union Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath officially confirmed that DMRC would undertake the work of Kochi Metro.
