NEW DELHI: If the Union Finance Ministry does not scuttle it as it had done in 2009, then Kochi Metro will get the Cabinet approval soon.The Urban Development Ministry has finalised the Cabinet note on the Kochi Metro and it is expected to be taken up for consideration in two weeks.“The Cabinet note on Kochi Metro is ready and we are in the process of taking it to the Cabinet. It will happen within 15 days,” Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath said here on Thursday.The same ministry had moved a similar proposal in the Cabinet in 2009 too. But it was opposed by the Finance Ministry so strongly that the Urban Development Ministry itself had to withdraw the proposal.Asked about the possibility of a repetition of 2009, an official with the Ministry who is co-ordinating with the state on this subject, told Express that the ministry was keeping its fingers crossed.“We have prepared the Cabinet note taking into consideration all these details. We hope that this note will not meet the same fate. But we cannot talk in absolute terms,” said the official.He said the ministry does not anticipate any strong opposition from the Finance Ministry as the loan component is much more than the 2009 proposal.“It is customary for the Finance Ministry to oppose anything which involves Central Government money. But everything depends on the political clout of the state concerned,” said the official.He said that Kochi Metro would be based on the Chennai model where the state and Centre will have equal partnership. According to him, both the state and the Centre will have 15% equity each and the rest of the money will be loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).The problem with the Chennai model is that the state will have to bear the entire loss in case the project does not turn out to be profitable. “States will have to take this risk as they are the ones who are responsible for the project,” he said.But the official added that the ministry does not anticipate such a situation. “It may not be profitable in the initial years but once people get used to the metro habit then it will become profitable,” said the official.Kamal Nath said the government was planning to have metros in all towns above a population of 20 lakh. He also said that the government would always prefer PPP model for developing metros. The 23.5-km Kochi Metro (Aluva to Petta) is estimated to cost Rs 4,722 crore.Meanwhile, Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said he was planning to send a team to Kochi to hold discussions with the officials concerned. Ahluwalia had been strongly opposing the Kochi Metro project citing financial reasons.
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