The defence ministry has agreed to allow tracks of the Joka-BBD Bag Metro to be laid through the Maidan, ending a four-year stalemate that had looked like it would drag forever until the Prime Minister stepped in ahead of his Calcutta visit.
"We have given our consent in principle in the larger interest of society. Construction of pillars will be allowed within the Turf View residential complex (of the army). As far as the proposed underground stretch below the Maidan is concerned, the railways would need to obtain clearances from Calcutta High Court for the same," a defence spokesperson told Metro.
In September 2007, the high court banned parking of vehicles on roads around the Maidan along with cooking in the open within a 3km radius of Victoria Memorial.
But environment activist Subhas Datta said on Friday that the court hadn't banned construction on the Maidan. "However, since the army is the custodian of the Maidan, no construction is possible without its permission."
Railway officials said the 5km stretch passing through the Maidan had been the main problem spot for the project, stalling it for so long that meeting the 2016 deadline is next to impossible.
The Calcutta Municipal Corporation's failure to shift utilities along Diamond Harbour Road and the Union finance ministry's objection to the proposed viaduct in front of Alipore Mint are among the other hurdles that officials are working to remove soon.
Prime Minister Modi, whose newfound bonhomie with chief minister Mamata Banerjee was the talk of his Bengal visit, had asked senior defence ministry officials to take "necessary steps" to pave the way for the Joka-BBD Bag Metro some weeks ago, sources said.
The army's Bengal area headquarters received a communication from the defence ministry soon after to allow the railways to follow the original route alignment through the Maidan.
Sources said the Joka-BBD Bag discussion took place at a meeting convened by the Prime Minister to assess pending projects.
"Army officers have told us that a no-objection notice would be issued soon. We are awaiting a formal communication before starting a fresh survey," a railway ministry official said from Delhi.
The 16.72km Metro project, announced by Mamata when she was railway minister in 2010-11, has been stuck for four years.
Work started in July 2011 but soon ran into a host of problems, most of them related to objections from various quarters, including the army. Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, the railways-owned company that is executing the project, has split the work into two phases. Construction is currently underway between Joka and Majerhat.
"The main problem area is between Mominpur and Esplanade, where the land we require mostly belongs to the army," a railway official said. "If we get the army's clearance, the project can be completed."
The site chosen for the proposed Victoria Memorial station is off Queensway while that for Park Street station is adjacent to the existing station of the same name on the north-south Metro route. The Esplanade station would be near Shahid Minar.
The railways had first proposed to build elevated tracks across the Maidan but abandoned the plan after the army objected to it, citing the possible impact of any such construction activity on the green belt along with the security of the neighbourhood, which includes Fort William, the headquarters of the army's Eastern Command.
In the revised plan, 8.75km of the proposed rail corridor will be elevated and 6.32km will run underground along Diamond Harbour Road, Kidderpore Road, Maidan, Mayo Road and Old Court House Street. The passenger interface with the Dum Dum-New Garia routes will be on Park Street and Esplanade.
