Karmayogi: A Biography of E. Sreedharan

by M.S. Ashokan

Sreedharan was preparing to put his feet up. By then, DMRC was established for the Delhi Metro project. Sreedharan, originally on the committee appointed to scout for a managing director, found himself appointed for the job. In the initial period, he shouldered both responsibilities—the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro—shuttling between Mumbai and Delhi without respite. What amazed the people of Delhi was not just the construction of the most modern metro line, but the attention taken every step of the way to make sure that the everyday life of the citizens was not affected. The mission progressed at great speed and, notably, without impacting the environment. In just two years and nine months, the first phase of the Delhi Metro was completed, three months earlier than originally scheduled, and without cost overruns of even a single rupee above the estimated Rs 10,500 crore. The project’s 124-kilometre second phase, projected to cost Rs 24,000 crore and estimated to lose Rs 2.5 crore every single day of delay, took only four and a half years to commission. In the annals of metro development projects, it was indeed a world record. Let us reflect for a minute to put all these achievements in perspective: they happened in a nation where building a simple, functional bridge or a narrow road in a panchayat generally costs tens of lakhs of rupees and happens at such an excruciatingly slow pace as to be of little real benefit.