This is what is called penny wise pound foolish mentality. The Chandrababu Naidu government was finally forced to cancel the much-publicised Vijayawada metro rail project, as a result of which Rs 75 crore spent in the name of preparing project reports has gone down the drain.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has cancelled the Memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) for the Vijayawada metro rail project because of internal differences between the two.
Apparently, the Naidu government has entered into an agreement with the DMRC without even getting required permissions form the centre.
With the cancellation of the agreement, the DMRC has charged Rs 75 crore from the state government for the expenditure it has incurred on the preparation of project reports, surveys and other overhead expenses. The State government is now said to be bargaining on the amount.
The state government has even called tenders twice for the Vijayawada metro rail project, but cancelled the same in the wake of objections from the DMRC.
In the meantime, Naidu came up with yet another idea of having a light rail transit system for Amaravati as a result of which the metro rail project was shelved. An irked DMRC finally cancelled the agreement.
