Delhi airport metro tunnel seepage: RInfra, DMRC face off

The Delhi airport metro link was expected to be India's answer to world's best metro services. However, some pictures, accessed exclusively by CNN-IBN, show the sorry state in which the metro line was running before being forced to shut down. A large part of the airport metro link is underground and roughly 17 km of it passes through a tunnel. Some pictures show that the tunnel has developed huge seepage and there are holes which have led to passage of not just water, but even mud.

However, in what has become typical of the state of affairs in Delhi airport metro, this matter too became a point of bitter dispute between the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Reliance Infra . Right from November 2010, Reliance Infra had been writing letters of complaint to the DMRC.

On November 20, 2010, heavy seepage was observed at a tunnel section, disapproving DMRC's claim that the seepage was within acceptable limits.

Again, on August 30, 2011, four letters were shot of by Reliance to DMRC complaining about various seepages.

The reason why the entire sequence of letters being exchanged between Reliance Infra and DMRC was taking place was the terms of the contract signed between the two sides. As per the contract, DMRC was responsible for the construction of civil structure while Reliance Infra was responsible for the maintenance of the structure.

Such was the level of mistrust that Reliance wrote a stinging mail to DMRC denying that it was even handed over the entire civil structure.

The mail states: "We categorically and unequivocally deny to have been handed over any part of the viaduct formally or informally as repeated several times and as confirmed even by DMRC's own consultant letters where a distinction has been conscientiously maintained between handing over of assets and provision of assets."

In response to all the letters written by Reliance, DMRC did agree to an inspection in August 2012. Till then, DMRC was convinced that there wasn't much to be worried about.

If Reliance showed pictures showing how, according to them, the situation was bad, the DMRC showed pictures showing situation wasn't bad at all.

However, the situation was taken seriously by all concerned. On August 1, 2012, almost a month after halting of airport metro, NDMC chairperson Archana Arora wrote the report saying while seepage was more prominent at one location, chain age 4600, the water table in the area is in range of 7 to 10 metre. Possibly seepage is due to inadequate or ineffectiveness of water proofing system.

The train isn't running anymore. What was supposed to be India's show piece to the world, has been caught in between two sides unwilling to blink.