CAG lambasts Indian Railways for delay in CSMT-Kurla additional lines

MUMBAI: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has come down heavily on Indian Railways for the inordinate delay in Central Railway’s ongoing construction of the 5th and 6th rail lines between CSMT and Kurla. The project, which was launched 17 years ago in 2008, is still incomplete. It has now been divided into two phases: Kurla to Parel under Phase 1, where the work is currently underway, and Parel to CSMT as Phase 2.

The CAG in its observation that was made public through a press release states: ‘Baseline Socio-Economic (BSE) survey for Phase I work was not completed even after a lapse of more than 11 years from September 2012. Further, Project Affected Persons (PAPs) were not rehabilitated (January 2024) as Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) could not complete the construction work of units at Nahur. This led to delay in getting possession of land. There was lack of coordination between Zonal Railways, as the proposal for transfer of land from Western Railway (WR) to Central Railway (CR) was forwarded by CR to WR in December 2015, but transfer of land by WR has not been done till date (January 2024). The above factors contributed to the extension of the scheduled date of completion of the project from March 2021 to March 2024.’ (Sic)

A CR official said that Central Railway had undertaken the work and the deadline for the completion of Phase 1 was December 2025. “We are carrying out the works with limited availability of land,” he said. “Work on Phase 1 is going well.”

The CAG report also stated that despite an expenditure of ₹500.93 crore or 56.22% of the sanctioned estimate of ₹890.89 crore in September 2014, only 26% of the work was physically completed as of January 2024, indicating that the target date of completion of project would be further extended. The revised cost, according to CR officials, now stands at ₹1,337 crore.

Another observation was that the detailed estimate prepared by M/s Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) was improper, besides which there were instances of lack of coordination with the state government. It was also found that there was non-adherence to codal provisions and the Railway Board’s instructions of minimum acquisition of land, which resulted in excess assessment of land requirement at the detailed estimate stage.

The audit also observed instances of idling of materials belonging to the electrical and signal and telecommunications departments due to contracts being awarded without ensuring availability of clear sites.

Meanwhile, land acquisition for the Kurla-Parel stretch is nearing conclusion while other works are also underway. Phase 1 extends 10.1 km from Kurla to Parel, while Phase 2 covers the 7.4 km stretch from Parel to CSMT. This project is to segregate suburban from long-distance trains. Currently, CR operates six tracks up to LTT.