With Hyderabad getting ready to start work on the Metro Rail, it will do well to learn lessons from the mistakes and the good practices of the Bangalore Metro Rail project, and take a leaf out of the Delhi Metro Rail project as well.
The first and foremost that the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) will have to keep in mind is detailed planning on the logistics of the project and the time frame of the project. Timely completion of project without any delay whatsoever will be a key to the success of the project and will also ensure that costs are maintained. And people have a right to monitor its completion because it is finally the exchequer's money.
Any large project such as the Metro Rail will always have a direct consequence on the people of the city, requiring greater planning, keeping in mind the already heavy traffic and safe movement of people.
So, the first step the Hyderabad Metro Rail Authority will have to take is be transparent about the details of the project and involve all agencies like the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), traffic police, transport department, the Telecom department, the AP Transco, the Environment department, the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB), the Forest department, the railways, and the Hyderabad Collectorate. A coordination committee of these agencies should be formed with full powers, to avoid any confusion. Separate control rooms should be set up to handle problems that may crop up during the construction phase.
This will be required to be done on a priority to assess the present utilities of Hyderabad with detailed mapping and other planned projects of the respective agencies during the period of the Metro Rail construction so that they do not clash with the work of the Metro Rail project or any duplication of projects leading to loss of funds.
Also, the HMRL will have to involve the contractors while planning the logistics, earmark places for manufacturing the girders, put a time-table on movements of trucks carrying the girders to the Metro Rail route and then fixing the girders so that it does not come in the way of the public movement. Ideally, such movements are encouraged during night the world over, and this was done in Delhi and Bangalore where the projects have been ongoing for the last few years.
It would be a good idea for HMRL officials involved in the project at the field level to visit Delhi and Bangalore to witness the difficulties being faced by those systems and eliminate obvious glitches from the project in Hyderabad.
Some mistakes made particularly in Bangalore may be good to avoid - foremost among them being destroying the popular boulevard on MG Road in Bangalore for the sake of the Metro Rail work there. A reality which old Bengalurians still hate to think of. Hyderabad should be wiser from that experience and ensure that its precious heritage, including the State Assembly facade, that the city has should be maintained at any cost. Even if it costs more money, it may be wiser to have and underground system over an elevated system.
Traffic planning will be very important since on many sections of the Metro Rail route, traffic will need to be diverted. This needs to be intimated early to the commuters and alternative routes be planned. Sign boards should be put up everywhere to inform people about it so that there is no confusion among motorists.
Safety during the construction of the project should be given top priority and the life of a common man should be respected. There have been incidents in Bangalore and Delhi where the cranes have crashed, or cement bags stacked up have fallen resulting in deaths. Motorists should be advised not to use the roads along the alignment of the Metro Rail, especially when girders are being placed on the alignment. The area of the alignment should be marked off and closed for any public movement. This includes the entire stretches of the Metro Rail, which should be partitioned.
There is bound to be lot of dust from the project site, adding to the already high pollution in Hyderabad. The APPCB should put in place a strict regiment and train the workers so that the dust from the project spot do not travel to the streets. The area may be covered with tarpauline to cut off the dusts travelling to public areas and help keeping the surroundings clean. The GHMC will have to ensure that any dust that still may come off is cleaned up immediately and the road outside the alignment area is well maintained and spic and span.
There will of course be losses of buildings or portion of buildings - both commercial and residential, and hence some protests and legal battles. The HMRL should plan for adequate compensation packages for those who are going to lose property and ensure that it is done promptly without giving rise to any complaints from those who lose out later. It should be a win-win situation for both.
There will be thousands of trees that will be lost during such a project either due to alignment route or due to road widening. Here is where the Environment and Forests department will do well to ensure that more trees are planted in the city to improve the green cover and make Hyderabad a better place to live. An increased tree cover will directly impact climate changes.And this may the time when the unwieldy power lines that go tottering over your heads could be put underground like it happens in civilised societies of the world. Is the AP Transco listening?
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