The project to widen the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass into an eight-lane connector is set to be given to a private agency.

?We are planning to seek a private agency for the project. Details are being worked out and will be sent to the government for approval,? P.R. Baviskar, chief executive officer of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), said on Sunday.

According to Baviskar, the work will be carried out on a public-private participation basis. ?It will be executed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis,? he added.

There are several models of BOT and the authorities are working out the best possible model, he said. There had been a proposal for imposing a toll tax on the Bypass to raise the cost of construction but it was rejected.

?Since it is a city road, the toll tax concept was ruled out. There are other possible models on which we are working,? Baviskar said.

It will take another four to six months to begin the work of widening the road. ?There are several technical procedures, but the ball has been set rolling,? Baviskar said. According to him, the project cost was being worked out.

?We are waiting for April, when we will know how much money will be allotted for the work by the Centre under the megacity project,? the CMDA CEO said.

Work on widening the road was deferred after court cases over tenders, officers said. ?Now, things have been sorted out,? they added.

Sources said a funds crunch was a major hindrance to starting the project. So, the CMDA was seeking private partnership. ?Work was scheduled to start this financial year, but court cases and financial constraints have deferred it,? the sources pointed out.

The CMDA employees? union has strongly objected to the proposal. ?The authorities must use our resources, instead of seeking private partnership,? said P.B. Nag, general secretary, Development Employees? Joint Action Forum.

Alarmed at the rising number of accidents on the Bypass and a building boom, the state government had decided to widen the artery and lay service roads along it.

CMDA officials said in the first phase, a service road is being built on the stretch between the Maniktala Main Road crossing and the Beleghata Main Road crossing.

In the second phase, it will be extended up to Parama Island (Park Circus connector) and then further south.

Vehicles that will turn left to go to any place off the Bypass will have to take the service road, and those that do not want to take any bylanes will keep to the main road.

A large number of residential and commercial complexes have already come up on both sides of the Bypass. Many housing and other projects are underway.