GBGB: National Strategy Meet on Metro Project - 3
Duration: 00:40:52; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 156.914; Saturation: 0.087; Lightness: 0.628; Volume: 0.195; Cuts per Minute: 0.783; Words per Minute: 148.114
Summary: A 2 day long National Strategy Meet on Metro Projects was held at Ajmera Hall, Mumbai. The meet was attended by representative activists, academicians, environmentalists, transport experts, architects etc from 7 cities including Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Thane, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad etc.
The Meet was held in the context of the announcement of Metro Projects to be introduced in 26 cities with proposed investment of 1 lakh crore rupees. The meet was inaugurated by lighting "mashal", flame of struggle, by veteran freedom fighter Shri Ajmera, Prof. Swapana Banerjee Guha, Kathiayani Chamraj (CIVIC-Bangalore), Smt Geeta (Metro Yard Hatao Abhiyan-Mumbai) amidst slogans.
C Ramchandriah recognised that Metro projects were being wrongly exempted from the purview of various laws, for instance the EIA Notification, and action was immediately initiated by way of a representation signed by all to Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to correct this anomaly. The Metro has been taken out of the preview of the EIA Notification since there was intense lobbying by the construction lobby including Metro proponents, it also important to know that the EIA Notification are bureaucratic legislations and not brought by Parliament.
It was recognised that the National Urban Transport Policy was progressive, but the process by which it was evolved was not democratic. It was identified that it must be country wide demand that all mega projects must be implemented by the procedure laid down in the Nagarpalika Act, and for this the laggard implementation of its progressive features (especially that of Metropolitan/District Planning Committees) must become a condition for State and Central support for urban infrastructure projects. Overall, no project should be rushed through on reactionary grounds, especially projects like Metro which would consume enormous funds and take decades to complete, without due public participation in their decision making as laid down in the Town and Country Planning Act, Nagarpalika Act, and various other legislations and policies.
It was also recognised that the rights of pavements vendors and street dwellers was being snuffed out despite such actions violating Supreme Court directives and national policies. The particular disregard for bastis of the poor when large projects are developed was condemned.
Link:
http://napm-india.org/node/51
Swapna Banerjee: And if you say that come let's examine that how the Welfare Housing scheme has been made, we are trying to sit and complete
Grant Road
Swapna Banerjee: Both of them are lies, they are not true. This vision that is there, it is a perspective to see, to make, to practise. The most important parts in this vision are..they are... reimaging the city. See the city in another way. See the city in another way. See Mumbai in such a way that Mumbai has become India's IFC that is International Financial Center. What is that? International Financial Centers of India will be actually bootleaking, it will become a servant of Global Financial Centers of GFC. It is a very important thing. Because the hierarchy that has emerged in the whole world, in what part of this hierarchy is Mumbai? In what part is Delhi? In what part is New York? In what part is Tokyo? This is very important. That time we will understand that Mumbai will be able to become Shanghai in it's lifetime in the sense that- by demolishing all the slums, and by uprooting all the poor. It will be able to become a beautiful, modern city. But never Mumbai, as an important city also will control financial capital. That is important.
Swapna Banerjee: The last point is, that... we call it neo liberal urbanist. In which all this part.. this part of construction, the part of transport, the other part of urban planning... this neo liberal urbanism that is there, it is about modern city. It's fundamental core, the most important aspect which is there, whom we should give a lot of exposure, that is, marginalizing the common people; totally marginalizing the poor. It is a big part. I read a lot of researchers who say JNNURM should be made inclusive. I can do everything. I write and I speak too. That, JNNURM is a product of global capital. JNNURM is a new border for capitalist accommodation in the cities. It will never want to become inclusive. It's biggest objective is to make the city for the elite. Throw away the working class from the city. And it has a lot of plans which we will discuss if we ever get time that how these people will be made a part of this, an efficient and small part will be made of the poor. If this is possible, then we can talk of NNRUM as inclusive. Rather what we need to do is in action, which many of our friends are doing, in theory, which many of us are trying to do, we should try to challenge it. We should try to resist it. And finally, whatever expertise we have, I would request you to take on some of my friends, we should try t give a constructive alternative.
Swapna Banerjee: Which was actually discussed in the morning that we will challenge and we will resist. And with that, we will try to include the theory of taxes and create an alternative. Thank you very much.
Simpreet: Thanks a lot Smt Guha..
Swapna Banerjee: Banerjee...
Simpreet: Swapna Banerjee Guha...
Swapna Banerjee: Banerjee Guha...
Simpreet: As she has said, the light she has thrown on the point of gatekeeping which we don't understand but which we all are suffering from. We are suffering from it in different ways. From one side if we go to see then be it any city, shimmering buildings are increasing in number day by day, big shopping malls are coming up. And when we see fro he other side, it's not just the question of villages, but more than 50% of people staying in the city get electricity for just 2 hours in a day. This is the result of that only, that the manner in which this new face of the city which is coming up within which... as she had said the poor people in the society don't have anything for them and the few rich people who are there have all the facilities be it water, all the facilities are being provided to them. And the result of it is that the concept of making cities bigger which is there, is coming to be seen by us in that manner. After Smt. Banerjee I will request Mr. Ramchandran Iyer who has come from Hyderabad to come to the mike and he will tell us about what the thought about the Metro Rail is and how it has been pushed ahead and what is happening in the due course.
C Ramchandriah: Sapna Banerjee.... and other friends.... I will speak more in English and less in Hindi so that I express myself better. So first excuse me. It's okay if I mix up some. In Hyderabad I speak Hindi more and not in Mumbai. Anyway, see, we all know that public transport is neglected in all big cities. In each city, there is some difference in Chennai and Mumbai as local trains are more important. But in each city, bus is a more important mode of transport. And these buses have been completely neglected since many years you know.. When the demand for travel is increasing, the public transport mode of the bus has been neglected from several years. If you see the statistics, the number of State Transport Undertakings which is there in each city, this number has decreased. Now what will people do? People have to go somewhere to work, somewhere to meet people, to buy something, everyday one has to travel in the city. As public transport is neglected, people started depending more on personal vehicles, cars, two wheelers and you know... especially two wheelers and cars.
C Ramchandriah: Now what happened in the course of last 10-15 years, the growing middle class, the growing IT sector, some people have gotten money in their hands very quickly, a 22-25 year old boy has started earning 50 lakhs in the IT sector. So, you have the modern cars and two-wheelers who have increased in great numbers. So what has happened in between is, systematically neo liberal paradigm has been damaged. We have also written a paper on how the government can systematically destroy it's own public sector organization which is making profits. Even today in the city of Hyderabad, 30 lakh passengers are bid goodbye through MSRTC buses. And those buses have no purity, neither on the road, nor in taxation policies, nor in buying, nor in giving (?) to the government.
C Ramchandriah: So, in the period of Chandrababu Naidu, for 10 years, MSRTC has been damaged. And after damaging, making it a loss making organization, a case has been made that now it is necessary to privatize it. So, through policy and administration first make it a loss making organization and then make it a fit case for privatization. Why was it resisted? And then, the city... since 10-15 years what has happened in the period of economic reforms, the city is to be given an image. It is to be made into a brand just as Mumbai is to be made like Shanghai. Keep saying Mumbai and Shanghai together. Hyderabad and Bangalore are to be made like Singapore. So, for many years we have heard in Hyderabad and Singapore, even our friends will agree- we will make it like Singapore! When you start questioning this in Hyderbad, that this all is there in Singapore, when will you bring it to Hyderabad? Then their standards were lessened and they said that we will make it like Dubai. Now for the first time we have in Hyderabad something like 'Dubai Shopping Mall'. So, Dubai has shopping malls, so, in the same way, there will be a shopping festival in Hyderabad.
C Ramchandriah: So constantly, through the media, the middle class and those who are newly getting income, these people are being ideologically brainwashed. And the city... if you don't do this then the city is not there, if you don't do this then you are not human, if you won't wear this then you are not a fine person- they are running this kind of an ideological campaign since the past ten years, especially during Chandrababu Naidu's time. That time, tourism was one of the important sectors- tourist city, clean and green city- Hyderabad has been given an award consecutively for four years from Accor after that I don't know if any other city has not been given this. That's why we used to say in Hyderabad that this is a useless award. Chandrababu Naidu has given some justifications for Hyderabad. It used to go on with the support of the governemnt. For four years consecutively the same city was being awarded 'Clean and Green City.' But in the 5th year some other city must have got it. Who has got it? No one has got it.
C Ramchandriah: And Chandrababu Naidu also started saying many times, and often before left party leaders, taunting them, mocking them that, 'There is no future for any ism, only tourism has future.' So mocking them many times he said, 'There is no future for socialism. It is necessary for capitalism to go with it. There is no future for socialism, capitalism, imperialism. Only tourism has future.' And this is very shameful to know that the same left parties this time gave Chandrababu Naidu political legitimacy and have made the election list with them. That is the most shameful episode of politics in Andhra pradesh in the last few years.
C Ramchandriah: Four projects which Chandrababu Naidu... and all these are now practically executed.. they have started with time, they have started in each city. An airport, a new airport... Begumpet airport is then becoming big. So, those travelling by airplanes are finding it difficult to sit in a lot of crowd. So, a new international airport is needed in Hyderabad. One is coming up in Bangalore too. And to justify a new international airport, all these neo liberal paradigms are coming into play. If you want an airport then you want it-then what kind of airports do you want? It's propaganda which is there is that Hyderabad will become a South Asian hub. How will it become a South Asian hub? No one will come to Hyderabad from Sri Lanka! If someone has to go to London, a person from Bangalore won't go to Hyderabad if he has to go to some other country. Nor will a person from Chennai come here. So what kind of hub will Hyderabad become? But, no one will question this. But it comes constantly in the press and the newspapers, 'Hyderabad is going to become a South Asian hub.'
C Ramchandriah: So for making this a hub, what is it's meaning? Normally the area which is needed for the airport double of that amount of land has been given. So that is the main project. Each project that is there, has become a real estate land scam project, in both Hyderabad and Bangalore. More than 5,000 acres of land is being given to people both from the government and by snatching it from villages. There it is GMR and in Bangalore it is Seimens or some other private company has been given. And each kind of concession! Each kind of concession! No public debate! Nobody knows what kind of concessions are being given...how much money the State Government is spending on that airport. And the parliamentary standing committee has brought the report which says how much the GMR people have spent on the Hyderabad airport. The GMR said that we have spent 2,500 crores on the airport. And it has a lease of 30 years. After 30 years it can be renewed or cancelled.
C Ramchandriah: But on March 14th 2008, when Sonia Gandhi was coming there to inaugurate it, that time, both of them were not told about it that the Air Traffic Controller was not there. The flights that were landing and taking off from the Shamshabad airport were being run by the Air Traffic Control at Begumpet Airport which was 100% risky. Nobody knew this. And secondly, the full page advertisements of it which are there, say that they will be with the airport for 60 years, they are already declaring that it will be for 60 years. Which means, that the lease of 30 years which is there, they are automatically renewing it and advertising it. And what did the Parliamentary standing committee say? That the GMR people have spent only 330 crores of money on this airport. And they are claiming 25,000... they have mortgaged our land and got a loan. All the highways, road widening, bridges- all is being done by the State government at it's expense. Yet what is the share of the State Government in the airport? Only 11%. Couldn't the Andhra Pradesh or the Central Government spend 30 crores for making that airport?
C Ramchandriah: And what else happened was that just two weeks before the airport people came to know that like Begumpet airport there is one more domestic airport in Bangalore. This is a move in a bid to shut down that airport. Why do they want to shut it? Every year, Begumpet airport used to make 200 crores of profit. It was a profit making public sector airport located in the city. And the Government of India, Government of AP, the political leaders and secretaries which are there in aviation, they have signed that when the new airport will start, the old airport will be shut. But they won't say this in the concesional agreement that Begumpet airport will be shut. They won't do that. They word it very nicely, because they are from IAS, they are bureaucrats. They say that this is a private airport, it is a green fuel airport. We don't know what green fuel is there in that. They seize lakhs of land from villages- what is green in that of yours?
C Ramchandriah: It is a green fuel airport. There is public-private partnership. And to make this commercially viable, what do they do? That clause that is there, this clause is coming in with the Metro Rail in every city hence I am explaining it a little to you. Shamshabad is 30-35 kms outside of Hyderabad. Within 150 kms of Shamshabad, the condition that is there is that no other airport should function. This is one clause in the agreement. This is a result of that of Begumpet airport shutting down. You have signed hence it will have to be shut down. And here the trade union people that are there... the airport trade union that is there, who are in C2 and A-Tech... C2 are more in number. The All India Leaders of C2 and A-Tech are usually parliament members. Do these people don't know about these kind of agreements? All the people know. They are thieves!
C Ramchandriah: The strike that was there of the trade union was one of the worst, fraud strikes ever undertaken by public sector organized unions. The strike was started two days before that Begumpet should not be shut down. When your superiors know everything, and when you are going to shut it down, when the entire (?) is going to be shifted from Shamshabad to Begumpet, and you people, just two days before.. just to be on record that they protested.. and that is more dangerous for democracy. Better not to protest! Two days before they signed in Bangalore and Hyderabad then this is against the shifting of the airport. And Praful Patel on top of that said to he politicians, that there is no danger to your job what is there in it? Then it's okay! That's it! There was no strike! Even the left parties till today, are not demanding that these airports should be made functional. And they are functional. All film stars, industrialists, big businessmen who come by their private airlines to Hyderabad all land in Begumpet. Shamshabad is outside. Including the owner and promoter of Shamshabad airport, that GMR guy that is there, Randeep Manav, his son that is there, lands in Begumpet when there is more fog in Shamshabad in winter.
C Ramchandriah: But if an ordinary person wants to go somewhere, then they don't get transport facilities. These are the kind of economic reforms, the bonds that they are getting in. And the second thing that this time only has happened is that public assets...just as Begumpet has been shut down... if they have to function, public assets... under the pretext of inefficiency, under the pretext of promoting investments, are being handed over to private companies. That's why overnight Mumbai airport becomes of the GVK. Now what does GVK has to do with Mumbai airport? Overnight Delhi airport becomes GMR airport. And it happened! And after that happening every passenger is charged User Development Fee. First these loss making airports were not there. But... and how much it is spending, what it is spending nobody knows.
C Ramchandriah: And after airports, the second project that has come in the neo-paradigm is ring roads. It is being done in Hyderabad-outer ring roads. Hyderabad needs outer ring roads after 20 years now it is not needed. And even if it is needed after 20 years, some land acquisition has to be done... how much is needed? How big a road is needed to go from one place to another? Eight lane- which implies access control of eight lanes- which means that whoever will go there will have to give money and use that road. Okay, acquire the land and keep it. You can make the road later, what is the need for it now? But if you are not making the road then don't make money out of it. How much money can you make out of land acquisition? They can make money out of construction. Now who are the complete players in this? The players in this heavy project are- international construction companies and the construction companies in India. 10-12 construction companies in India which are there, they are there in every place in every project- Nagarjuna construction company, GMR- GMR is just a 5-6 year old company. Before that it used to do some other kind of work..father and son.. GMR, GVK- GVK was never a construction company... Reliance, Nagarjuna construction, IVCRL, Gammon. All of them, getting together one or two of them, making a consolation, every project is being pushed by these people only.
C Ramchandriah: And I have quoted in my article that there is a big, world-popular architect named Charles Correa. He was also the Commissioner of National Commissioner of Authorization. I went to his college alone to meet him. Long time back defense contracts and industrialists used to give money to politics, today, more real estate companies are giving money to politicians and politics. And in real estate, on State level, kick backs are a lot. That's why real estate has become very big on State level. I had given an interview in the Times Of India, in that I quoted, 'In every place they are dictating everything'. And in the outer in-load there are two, construction companies from outside- one from Russia and one from Taiwan and a Congress MP is the sub-contractor. All of this becomes sub-contracted. The contracts that are gotten by participating in old biddings, they are not in the place of work. The local politicians are sub-contracted. So, the politicians have also become big people. There is not much difference today between politicians and contractors.
C Ramchandriah: And that politician that is there, on the third level, makes his person a sub-contractor. He takes it from his person. That's why, in each project, what it costs on the ground and what is needed, is four times more. Because on each level, a percentage has to go. Be it Mehtas or Gammon or a metro in Mumbai or a metro in Hyderabad, this is the thing. And a person works on the fourth level. The building that is there first it doesn't know what we are doing below because they are doing their percentage at every level. That's why if you go to see we are seeing in Hyderabad that no political party in Hyderabad is opposing these projects. These projects are not even being criticized- every political party! Because every political party from left to right is getting donations from these only 5-6 construction companies. And it's our misfortune to be against all these people.
C Ramchandriah: And the third is the Metro rails which is a heavy project that has come up in all cities. There is a lot of discussion that has happened on Hyderabad Metro rails. We have also had a lot of discussions on this. I will not take up a lot of time on this as it will be discussed in the afternoon session. But I want to say 2-3 things about this. When I heard about this project 3 years back, that it would be elevated, that it would have 20, 40, 50 feet high pillars, that a bridge like thing will come over it, that rails will go over it- when I heard such a thing, I had not even seen the Delhi Metro that time. But, Hyderabad city that is there... every city has its own characteristic, it has its own form , its own history, its own culture- Delhi and Hyderabad are not the same. And when I heard that it will be elevated in Hyderabad as it is in Delhi, I thought that it would harm Hyderabad city a lot. That's it! From then on, I started to gather that it was difficult now to bring together the middle class NGO's then how would it be for Metro?
C Ramchandriah: Because in the past 10 years, these people have got a lot of money and tourism hs increased, air travel has increased, the people watching Singapore and Bangkok has increased, their sons are in London, Paris and America, so when Metro Rail is with modernity, why are these mad people opposing it? So, it was very difficult for us to get people together. And I too, tactfully, what I did was... I was going to say this in the afternoon but now that I have got a chance, why not... what I tactfully did was, I said that we won't oppose it. But you will say that in this city how can public transport be improved? That they will say. And under that pretext, 10-12 NGO's and 10-12 friends of ours in the city who are not related to some other agency but who are usuals... I took their help. One pamphlet... have got it, later if you want to... 'Citizen Declaration for Better Public Transport in Hyderabad'- this is our declaration. Implement this. I didn't say anything against Metro in it. But I said this- that till you do this, till then keep Metro in the audience, keep it aside. Implement this in 2 years. A lot of improvement will happen. After that, if it will be necessary, if Metro is needed, then we will take it up.
C Ramchandriah: So taking a strategy like that, with some difficulty we had some press meets, some discussions... small coverages used to come. No political party used to support us. So in that way we used to do things slowly. And when it's response didn't come from the government, we said, 'Why is it not coming?' When there isn't footpath in the city, when peddlers have to walk facing so much of danger, when it doesn't even cost much, the government is focusing not on this, but that. Because there is more money in that, they can make more money in that that's why the government is pushing it and not this. So we started bringing these counter arguments too. And some years back in Hyderabad a new local train system had started by the name of MMTS. The railway track that are there, trains running on that named MMTS trains which means Multi Modal Transit System were started in the year 2003 in the period of Chandrababu Naidu called MMTS Phase I 40 kms.
C Ramchandriah: And it has become very popular now. 1 Lakh people travel every year by it. That same time MMTS Phase 2 was approved. And on 60-70 kms railway tracks local trains were running. Ever since Congress has come, this has completely been neglected. And in the past 5-6 years atleast 5-6 delegates from Hyderabad who are officers, they have roamed in Baroda and Columbia on the name of BRTS. We started raising this that if you show so much interest in bringing in such a heavy project, then why are you not taking up MMTS Phase 2? And why are you not taking up BRTS? So we started counter attacking that till you won't take up BRTS and MMTS Phase 2 and if you are just focused on Metro. That's only for money and not for improving public transport. So we started a second argument against the government.
C Ramchandriah: And the third thing that happened was, the people don't know any details about this project. And the heavy projects have this same character in all cities that there is no transparency and no public debate. There is no debate on this at any level. Sometimes, they give a press statement that there will be a line made from Miyanpur to LB Nagar in Hyderabad, Line 2 will go from Secunderabad to here, Line 3 will go from here to there, this will come from the station and by 2012 everyday 15 lakh people will travel on it- they will give a statement. And that statement will have such a big body and will be shown in the media. That's very good! By 2012 all public transport problems in Hyderabad city will be solved. But slowly we started demanding that who said that 15 lakh passengers will travel in 36 Metro Rails. Which organization and which institute has done a traffic study of this and said this? Show us, we want to see! I indirectly had a good sense that in Hyderabad there is a good technical institute named JNTU which has a good transport engineering department.
And in Vanagal where there is Nehru Institute of Technology, there is a transport engineering department in that too.
C Ramchandriah: And this neo liberal model which is there, in it, the local expert has been neglected. A consultant from outside will come and say how to journey from Churchgate to Grant Road. But they will not talk to the transport expert in Mumbai. This happened in Hyderabad itself. And we high rate this thing a lot. When you are not involving our local transport engineering department, who is he, who comes from outside and says that 15 lakh passengers will travel? We ourselves want to know. And we caught 2-3 MLA's from the city and asked, 'Do you know in which institute did the MLA of the city study?' What guarantee is there? Till now we have the experience of Delhi? 24 lakh were supposed to travel in Phase one. Only 6-7 lakh are travelling! Who knows? They are saying 15 lakh. Probably it will stop at 3 lakh. Till then you must have spent so much of money. That's why we want that the studies that are there about Metro Rail in Hyderabad, these studies should be fully brought out. We should know. There should be a debate on that. So slowly our voice will get credibility. And we started becoming a bit strong. Till the topic of Metro is concerned, our voice started getting credibility.
C Ramchandriah: In the midst of this, I went to every political party, in the time that every political leader gave us... two parties didn't give us time. One of them was MIM party- they used to protest a lot first because there were a lot of demolitions happening in the old city but after that they became co operative. And the second is, CPI-M who didn't give us time. Their leader has a personal tiff with me. We had first researched them, yet. I managed 5 political parties and their leaders and for the first time I called for an all party meeting in June 2008. And they were not satisfied about speaking on this because they had to oppose the Metro. I said, don't oppose, the agenda is not to oppose. Then they were okay and ready to carry on. These 6-7 studies or reports which are there, these reports should be revealed by Metro Rail people. Each political party should be given a copy and whatever is asked should be answered because they are not responding even to the Right to Information act.
C Ramchandriah: Can you being a political party not demand this much also? No, why not? We will demand! So I fooled them. So since the all party meeting of 5 political parties, we got a complete upper hand against the Hyderabad Metro. So it took us atleast 2 years to come to that stage. So since then political parties started saying, 'Why? What secrecy is there?' Our question was just this that if this project is meant for the benefit of the people and for their good, then why is there so much secrecy in it? That's just it. You bring it out or else we will be shamed among the people. Okay, we are ready to be ashamed among the people. But till you keep hiding it, we will keep abusing you. And we will abuse you in the parliament too. We were making a future strategy and we went alongwith that strategy. And till then our battle that was there... The people of Jhala Television started talking about it, newspaper people started coming to us... say something, say this and say that.. everything became overblown. But he.. he was not caring.
C Ramchandriah: What happened that time was, the consortia that is there of the Metro Rail.. I will take 10 minutes more and in the afternoon I will save time on Hyderabad. If you see the consortia.. it is in the paper... there are 1-2 Indian companies, and 1-2 foreign companies. It is a combination of national and domestic capital or professional and domestic companies. And if you go to see Delhi's, we used this too against them.. it has imported coaches, there are imported nuts, it's with nutbolts. So we started saying in Hyderabad that see, this is a project against the railways. We started saying this too. Because in the coming days Metro Rail and local trains which are running cannot go from one track to another. Because in the standard range imported ones are coming in. Have our railways become so bad? So this nationalistic angle started coming in between where it can be used.
C Ramchandriah: And people started slowly understanding that there is some problem in this. We started planting doubts till that extent in the people. What happened after that was, bidding happened on July 23rd. There are 5 groups in that. We started making them into a syndicate in local language. The name of syndicate was used. Because syndicate... In Hyderabad, the finders who want to take the contracts of indication projects, the contractors make a syndicate. The make a syndicate they tell the other contractor that you cannot put a tender below this. So the syndicate is a bit of a derogatory term. We said that this is not a consortia and that it is a syndicate. They are a big company and so they call it a consortia. But these are its true colours it is a syndicate. It is a syndicate of companies. So that to you know...hit them a bit.
C Ramchandriah: What happened was, in all these 5 syndicates, one was withdrawn. One was withdrawn, those people felt that this is not financially viable because it is a 12,000 crore project. That day on 23rd July, bids were invited. That day bids were opened one was siphoned off from the four. Which one was selected was not declared that day. After three days it was declared and after that it was found that the Mehta's company group had got the contract. When the bids were opened what happened was that the Mehta's company said we don't want a penny from the state government. We will finance the full 100% of it. On top that we will repay the government 3,000 crores. Very nice! The media campaign, the media coverage of this, in that the Prime minister has said, 'World's Best Agreement'. The whole world is looking now at Hyderabad. Business Standard wrote, 'Hyderabad gets Metro Rail for free'. That was the headline in Business Standard. The headline in Hindu was 'World's Best. The Prime Minister said, 'Everybody!'. So, it will take more time for me. So this was the environment.
C Ramchandriah: Okay. That happened. 6 years passed by. On September 19, the concessional agreement was considered. Between Mehta's and Government of AP. What all concessions will be given. We have some experience of GMR airport. So we want to see what is written in this concessional agreement. But they won't give us. And one of their friends has advised us in a mail that by Section 4 A of Right to Information Act you can go and expect the document. Okay, we will use this. So we thought..we wrote a letter that we are coming to your office on saturday at 11. There is no need of permission. You can inform and go. And we wrote a week before. I thought that if it is not favourable, we can take the media and go. If it is favourable, we ourselves can go. I went with my friends who were advocates of High Court. It took us 6-7 hours to understand 5-6 clauses of that concessional agreement. But with the help of good advocates. Because it is the strategy of corporate sectors today in every city and every place to write what you can say in 50 pages in 1,000 pages-section A, section B, this and that. You will go mad, you won't understand anything.
C Ramchandriah: We just saw 5-6 of them. We wanted to see the most important clauses. I went with advocates. Umesh Verma was also with me. But we were seeing the clauses of just one document. We wrote it with hand as they were not giving a photocopy. So we wrote it by hand and had a sell out in a press meet. This one concessional agreement that has been signed is also being called as the Best Agreement. I said that this is a sellout. The Mehta company is selling the city of Hyderabad. This is just a sellout. It started being exposed in October. I went on 25th October. After that we had a campaign and made pamphlets in Telegu and English, we went to colleges and universities and we gave them to people in press meets. In the midst of this on 26th August we issued a public litigation in the High Court. There too, we didn't oppose. It's (?) is not there. I want to bring it in the upcoming strategy. One important point in the Metro rails is that, in 2005 the draft notification that was there in taking objections and suggestions... in that Metro rails was listed. When the final notification of Minister of Environment came, on September 14 2006, in that Metro Rails was omitted. What happened in the middle of this?
C Ramchandriah: When mandatory environmental clearance is necessary for a project, some of its characteristics come into play and so it is there in the draft notification. But when the final notification has come, it has been omitted. This is the power of global capital and national capital. All environmental loss today are modified to suit the loot of these companies. And we have challenged that in the High Court. On what basis do you keep it and on what basis do you omit it that should be said. Till now the minister of environment has not filed a counter affidavit in the High court. And he nicely... about noise pollution..detailed report of what all damage can be caused by this project...
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