There has been an inordinate delay in the completion of the Kolkata Metro Orange Line. The construction work between Gaur Kishore Ghosh (near Chingrighata crossing) and Beliaghata stations on the Orange Line has been halted for a long long time because the State Government departments did not issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for traffic diversion at the site.
Upamanyu Bhattacharya, a young civic activist associated with the BJP from Kolkata, filed a PIL at the Calcutta High Court in July, alleging that the West Bengal Government was deliberately holding up clearances. The Calcutta High Court recently issued a directive to all stakeholders to sit together and resolve the impasse.
There are reports since Tuesday that state government agencies, Metro Railway, and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) have indeed sat together and decided to execute the work in the second and third week of November this year.
ForPol sat down with Upamanyu Bhattacharya over the weekend to discuss the Kolkata Metro Orange Line and hear what he had to say about the matter.
The delay in the completion of the Kolkata Metro Orange Line
The Orange Line of the Kolkata Metro will connect Sector-5 in Salt Lake with Kavi Shubhash and the Airport. Crucially, it will impact a huge number of citizens in Kolkata and make their lives a lot easier. However, the construction near Chingrighata has been held up for 5 years because there’s no NOC for traffic diversion.
Mr. Bhattacharya said, “This has already been delayed for 5 years. Only 366 meters remains to be constructed. You need traffic flow to be diverted at night for 2 consecutive weekends for this. The road will be open during the day. It’s only for the nights of 2 consecutive weekends. What is the issue with that?”
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According to Mr. Bhattacharya, the State Government had initially complained that there is a lot of traffic here, so a line diversion is required. The Metro Authorities consequently built the line diversion. Even after that, the Police authorities are not giving an NOC.
Mr. Bhattacharya stated, “After I filed the PIL, the State Government said in Court that they need an underpass to be built. Why an underpass? Because in very heavy traffic junction areas, when a Metro Station in constructed, pedestrian traffic sometimes increases. Now, for this underpass, the Metro and State were supposed to pay 50-50 for the cost. Now the State Government is saying they will not pay. They have also held up the design for the underpass.”
We asked him whether it was possible for the underpass to be built after the Metro was operational. According to Mr. Bhattacharya, it is a possibility. “I wrote letters to the State Government and the Metro authorities after this was problem was cited,” he said, “I asked the Metro authorities to keep the station (Gaur Kishore Metro Station) closed even after it is constructed until the underpass is built. The Metro authorities agreed to this.”
‘State Govt does not want this to be completed before 2026 elections’
According to Mr. Bhattacharya, it is political calculations that is motivating the West Bengal Government to delay the completion of the Orange Line. “The state doesn’t want this Metro route to be operational before the 2026 elections. Because if it gets operational before the 2026 elections, it will be a huge talking point for the people of Kolkata. How many people will be affected? At least about 10 lakh salaried people,” he said.
Mr. Bhattacharya said further, “They don’t want it to be done by April-May of 2026 at all cost. Once the Model Code of Conduct comes into play, no new projects can be inaugurated by the Prime Minister or politicians anyway. But, if a line is complete, it will get commissioned. People can use the service. They don’t even want that to happen. So basically, just stop it at all cost.”
The new Kolkata Metro lines have created a ‘Vibe Shift’ in West Bengal
“After PM Modi has inaugurated the two metro lines, there has been a wide shift amongst the salaried class of Kolkata. The wide shift is very visible,” says Mr. Bhattacharya. “Look, Metro rail gives a great vibe. It looks better. And it solves a lot of problem also.”
“If you open Instagram, you will see that there is a reel which shows a metro route with skyscrapers. It’s the same metro route which I have filed a case for. That metro route is operational for 4.4 kms between the Ruby Hospital and Kavi Shubhash.”
Mr. Bhattacharya expectedly had very few good things to say about the State Government. He says they have failed on core governance issues. According to him, they keep obstructing all development projects where the Central Government plays a part in.
We reminded him that there were great ‘anti-TMC vibes’ in 2021 as well. But Mamata Banerjee returned to power with a thumping majority. To that, he says that he does not agree there was a similar vibe. “Under TMC, things are at a free fall. And with every passing year, it keeps getting worse. Mamata Banerjee’s arrogance peaked after the 2024 elections. She became extremely overconfident and arrogant..”
“But after RG Kar, the South Kolkata Law College rape case, the SSC scam, people have lost faith in her government.”
The roadblocks towards Infrastructure Development in India
Beyond everything, what the delay in the Kolkata Metro Orange Line really reveals is the immense roadblocks towards Infrastructure Development in India. There are so many stakeholders at play, each with their own interests, that building a consensus for a project becomes extremely difficult.
We can see in this instance that the State Government is wilfully delaying the completion of the Orange Line. And it is doing solely for political reasons. Lakhs of commuters are being denied access to quality public transport.
With the intervention in the Judiciary, it appears that this impasse has now been resolved. People in Kolkata will finally be able to experience the Orange Line route by April next year, or May. But it also highlights the fact that the public needs to exert pressure on political parties to ensure that they do not create hurdles towards building necessary infrastructure, which will ultimately only benefit the citizenry.
