MRVC stuck in limbo; is it the new collateral damage in Centre-state battle?

MRVC has been involved in key city rail upgrade projects, including the Kurla-Thane and Thane-Diva fifth and sixth lines

All ongoing and recently announced Mumbai suburban railway projects may come to a standstill soon as the Maharashtra government has reportedly stopped funding the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), making smooth functioning of the body difficult and even posing a threat to its existence. This may also trickle down and affect the functioning of the city's cheapest and fastest mode of transport - Mumbai's lifeline local trains, used by around eight million commuters daily.

MRVC - Mumbai local train network's planning body - develops new lines, brings in new local trains and has lined up more projects to improve the suburban railway system. The body was set up with 51:49 share between the Ministry of Railways and Government of Maharashtra under Companies Act, 1956 on July 12, 1999 and is responsible for executing projects under Mumbai Urban Transport Project.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve (right) travel on a local train on the Thane-Diva fifth and sixth line. File pics

However, the present Maha Vikas Aghadi government has reportedly stopped its share of funding to the railway body since the past three years, leading to questions in railway circles about whether MRVC would become a scapegoat in the battle between the state and Central government.

Sources said that the funding had stopped after 2019 and over the years the problem got worse with no appropriate funding. Though allocations are coming from the railway budget, the state has closed their taps, and the pending amount exceeds Rs 1,000 crore.

He added that the projects that were badly affected due to the fund crunch include MUTP 2 (R8,000 crore), MUTP 3 (R10,000 crore), MUTP 3A (R33,000 crore).

"Projects in Mumbai are done in joint coordination with the state government, and if the state does not contribute its share, it will be difficult to continue," Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Patil Danve told mid-day.

"The Centre is ready to bring railway projects and new lines, but as per policy, the state has to contribute 50 per cent of its share. I yet again appeal to the Maharashtra government to conduct a joint meeting, make a list of all the issues and sort them out so that projects are not affected," he said.

Since it is a joint body, projects are funded equally by the Indian Railways and the state government in their annual budgets. The railway ministry has been making its due allocations for the various ongoing projects in the national budget, but the allocations from Maharashtra government have stopped.

MRVC, the planning body for Mumbai local train network, brings in new local trains apart from developing new lines. File pic

"The problem has now multiplied as there is no money for smooth functioning of the organisation and if things continue like this, it would be difficult to even function. This has been the case since the new government took over," sources said.

Maharashtra government officials refuted the allegations, stating that funding had not been stopped, but was delayed owing to the financial hitches due to the pandemic, lockdown and related reasons. The state government will be able to reallocate the sums when things get normalised and streamlined.

A state government official said that the MRVC was paid via the MMRDA, but added that the state has released its share of funds for railway projects constructed outside Mumbai till March this year.
MMRDA officials, however, said that it was not involved in any disbursal of funds to MRVC or any railway body.

Since inception, MRVC has been involved in key city rail upgrade projects, including DC-AC power conversion, upgrading 9-car trains to 12-car, building new rail corridors, including Kurla-Thane and Thane-Diva fifth and sixth lines, procuring new local trains and planning and executing additional corridors under MUTP.