THE Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (NMRCL) has reportedly fallen short on fulfilling its commitment to the Central Jail administration after acquiring land for the construction of metro rail pillars and associated infrastructure. The land, spanning approximately five acres and valued at Rs 99.45 crore as per ready reckoner rates, was procured from the Central Jail five years ago. The situation has raised question on the transparency and accountability in public infrastructure projects in the city, especially implemented by NMRCL. The acquisition took place in lieu of a series of promises that the NMRCL made during a meeting held on January 10, 2017, between key stakeholders. The meeting, attended by Yogesh Desai, then DIG Prison; D M Ramtekkar, then Chief Project Manager, NMRCL; Dilip Savarkar DGM, Land, NMRCL; G K Nandanwar, General Manager, NMRCL; and Dilip Jamgade, then Engineer, NMC; resulted in a list of undertakings that the NMRCL agreed to uphold in exchange for the land.

 

The promises included a commitment to increase the height of the compound wall and to install a view cutter along the metro track to safeguard the privacy of the prisoners. Additionally, the NMRCL vowed to construct a 10-foot high fence across the agriculture land of the jail and a dedicated underpass to facilitate the passage of tractors. Infrastructure such as cement concrete roads, 100 quarters for jail staff, a well, and two borewells were also part of the undertaking. However, recent reports have highlighted NMRCL’s failure to live up to these commitments. Instead of the promised infrastructure, the NMRCL has only erected walls on either side of the road and constructed a foot over bridge instead of under-pass.