The Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Metro Railway officials met on Friday to chalk out a road map for the Baranagar-Barrackpore Metro project that was announced in 2010.
It was decided that the engineers of the two organisations would draw up a plan on shifting utilities, including water transmission lines under BT Road that would enable laying of the foundation for the Metro viaduct, said officials.
Disagreements between Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd — the implementing agency for the project — and the KMC over where and how to shift the utilities, including pipelines that transmit potable water from Palta water treatment plant to Tallah water reservoir, have been the main reason for the stalemate.
The 12.5km project (Pink Line) was sanctioned in 2010 when Mamata Banerjee was the railway minister, but construction has not yet started.
“The water transmission lines are very important for the city. It has to be ensured that the flow of water remains undisturbed,” mayor Firhad Hakim, who chaired Friday’s meeting, said.
A KMC official, who attended the meeting, said it was decided that engineers of the two organisations will start regular meetings to find a solution to the impasse.
A railway official confirmed that the joint meetings will begin soon.
“A technical solution about shifting the water pipelines has to be worked out first. The joint meetings will be necessary for working out a solution,” said the railways official.
There are five transmission pipelines between the Palta water treatment plant and the Tallah water reservoir. Two of them have to be shifted for the Metro construction.
The Palta water treatment plant produces 240 million gallons of water every day. Routed through the Tallah reservoir, it supplies potable water to entire north Calcutta; central Calcutta, barring small portions; and a small part of south Calcutta.
For the KMC, the health of water pipelines is paramount, as any disturbance will disrupt water supply over more than half of the city.
At the same time, the foundation of the elevated Metro tracks cannot be laid without shifting the water transmission lines.
When asked about who will bear the cost of shifting the pipelines, Hakim said: “We have submitted our proposals. They (railways engineers who attended the meeting) will talk to Delhi and get back to us.”