Delhi Metro's Magenta Line: Private suppliers protest over pending dues

Trouble is brewing for the Delhi Metro's Magenta Line, where another route will start functioning on May 29, with as many as 100 private suppliers and contractors threatening to block the tracks over pending payments. They are currently sitting on a dharna outside the Malviya Nagar Metro station, protesting against the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for failing to release dues worth Rs 85 crore to them.

The protesters have said they will lie down on the yet to be started Kalkaji-Janakpuri route of Magenta corridor, on May 28 when Union Minister for Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri flags off the train officially. The Metro will become operational for the public from May 29.

According to the protesters, they had provided supplies like concrete, boulders, iron bars, and other construction material, labour to a Mumbai-based contractor, who was roped in by the DMRC as the dealing hand, for construction of Magenta and Pink Lines. "We have, till now, supplied goods and services worth Rs 400 crore to the DMRC through Pratibha Industries Limited. We have been working for the rail corporation for the past four years. In the beginning, we got our payment in time but for the past two years, the company has not released a single penny," said Izhar Chowdhary of North Infra Suppliers and Contractors Association. "An outstanding payment of Rs 85 crore is overdue," he further said.

Chowdhary also claimed that employees of the company have "disappeared", leaving them with no authority to talk to. "We approached DMRC which was the final signing authority for all the material that we released for building the corridors. We have toiled hard for the train that they are flagging off next week. If the rail body does not address our grievance, we will lie down on the tracks in front of the union minister," he said.

This section, comprising 16 stations, will be the longest opened so far in Delhi Metro's Phase 3. The corridor holds significance with two new interchange facilities coming up at Janakpuri West (with the Dwarka – NOIDA/ Vaishali Blue Line) and Hauz Khas (with the HUDA City Centre – Samaypur Badli Yellow line). The domestic terminals of the Indira Gandhi International Airport will also get directly connected by the Metro.

THE PROTESTERS

• The protesters said that they will lie down on the yet to be started Kalkaji-Janakpuri route of Magenta corridor, on May 28 when Union Minister for Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri flags off the train officially
   
• They are currently sitting on a dharna outside the Malviya Nagar Metro station