For its opening, the Metro route is awaiting word from the CMO of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Despite the City and Industrial Development Corporation’s (CIDCO) assurances that the first Metro line in Navi Mumbai will open soon, the project has yet to open since the planning authority has been in anticipation of the approval for the previous two and a half months.
With each day of delay, the cost of Metro Line 1’s development, which was INR 2500 crore, increases. According to a top CIDCO official, everything is set up on their end for the metro to launch; ground employees, housekeeping, technicians, and security guards have all been hired and are being paid. The corporation is losing money as a result of the project’s delayed launch.
A senior CIDCO official who wished to remain anonymous remarked, “We’ve been ready since the end of June. Since there was only a 12-hour notice, all operational preparations were completed, and the metro service ran as planned. We have informed the CMO that we are prepared; they must now decide whether to hold the inauguration, he continued.
The Digha railway station on the trans-harbour’s Vashi-Thane line and the second section of the Belapur-Uran railway line between Kharkopar and Uran are both ready and waiting to be opened.
“All three projects remain stagnant because politicians want the top leadership to inaugurate them”, according to a senior IAS officer. “Thousands of commuters would benefit from all three measures, the officer claimed. Thousands of commuters would receive much-needed relief from all three efforts”, the officer stated, “but because VVIPs are busy, the programmes are also not fully utilised”.
The general public’s voices recognised the significance of the Navi Mumbai Metro. “Taloja’s train station in Kharghar receives thousands of visitors each day. It frequently takes more than 30 or even 45 minutes due to traffic. We are unable to use the Metro despite being prepared. Harish Keni, a former Taloja council member and participant in the Shetkari Kamgar Paksh, stated, I don’t know when VIPs would have time for citizens.
On May 1, 2011, Prithviraj Chavan, who was the chief minister at the time, did the bhoomi pujan for the Navi Mumbai Metro Line 1. In three years, CIDCO, a Navi Mumbai urban development organisation, aimed to complete the first line. However, the 11.10-kilometre circuit with 11 stations was delayed because of a technical issue. The Navi Mumbai Metro’s initial phase will connect Pendhar with CBD Belapur. It is expected to improve Navi Mumbai’s connectivity and expand the real estate sector.
During a visit to the site of the Navi Mumbai airport early in June 2023, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis pledged that the Metro will begin running as soon as it acquires the CMRS certification. On June 21, CIDCO claimed that it had received the necessary clearances and certificates. Representatives of the CMO, however, chose not to comment on the circumstances.
First, the San Jose Constructora-Mahavir Roads-Supreme Infra JV was given the contract for building Metro stations. CIDCO, however, cancelled the agreement.To expedite the development process, Maharashtra Metro Railway Corporation (MahaMetro) was brought on board in February 2021. A contract for the operation and upkeep of Line 1 for the following 10 years, FOR INR 885 crore plus taxes, was awarded to the company five months later.
Construction was accelerated when CIDCO obtained the CMRS (Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety) certificate for the 5.4-kilometre section between Pendhar and Central Park in October 2021. Before submitting its application for CMRS certification, CIDCO completed the construction of all 11 stations.