Sept. 5: A seven-year uncertainty has ended for the East-West Metro with a fresh contract being finalised for the construction of underground tracks along the 700m stretch from Mahakaran station in BBD Bag to Esplanade.

The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) gave the Rs 484-crorecontract on Monday to construction company Afcons, which is already building the rest of the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section.

Afcons had held the same contract in 2010, but could not start work because of land tangles. When the route was realigned to avoid the problem points, a new hurdle cropped up when the Archaeological Survey of India withheld a formal clearance to build tunnels near three heritage structures.

In Calcutta, all Metro projects have been plagued by delays and missed deadlines because of land logjams and red tape. For some of these sites, including part of the Airport-Barasat route, contracts were awarded and then cancelled because the companies did not have access to the sites.

There is no clarity on when the hurdles will be out of the way.

In the original East-West Metro alignment of the stretch where the contract has been reissued, the route was to go from BBD Bag towards Central and then onwards to Sealdah. The Mahakaran station was to be on Brabourne Road.

Work was stalled in 2012 after the state government refused to help the KMRC shift hawkers and settlers from Brabourne Road and Bowbazar.

According to KMRC officials, the contract had not been cancelled even after work was halted. But once the decision to realign the route was taken in 2015, the contract automatically stood cancelled. This was officially communicated to Afcons, the officials said.

Based on the revised plan, the Mahakaran station is being built beside Laldighi in BBD Bag. The tracks will now go to Esplanade instead of Central, en route to Sealdah.

The ASI had for a long time refused to allow tunnels to be burrowed under Brabourne Road because of the proximity of the proposed route to Beth El Synagogue, Magen David Synagogue and Currency Building. Afcons moved Calcutta High Court to get a clearance, which finally came in June.

Afcons expects the tunnel-boring operation till Esplanade to be completed by February 2018. "If a new contract had not been awarded, these machines would have been idling at the site of the Mahakaran station," an official said.

Japan funding

The KMRC today informed Calcutta High Court that the Japan International Cooperation Agency had approved funding for the realigned portion of the East-West Metro. The change entails extra expenditure of Rs 700-800 crore.

Justice Dipankar Datta mentioned during the hearing that environment activist Bonani Kakkar had written to the KMRC managing director, requesting him not to fell trees while constructing the Mahakaran station.