Rs.2000 crore to flatten a hill, but would that amount create one afresh?
I am not an engineer, cannot assess value of construction, cost of projects etc., But this bit of news in the morning paper caught me by surprise. “The tender for hill cutting is worth around Rs 2,000 crore. The first two parts of the tender, said to be around Rs 550 crore, was repackaged owing to change in engineering works and design for combining the cutting and diversion of the Ulwe river. This part is currently under tendering process. The other two parts have been finalised.” From TOI’s repot on ground work having started at the Navi Mumbai Airport site. Is it normal to include a whopping 2000 crore rupees to cut a hill to make way for the airpot? How much would that add to our “airport maintenance charges” or “user charges” per ticket? Does cutting the hill not yield any granite? Does 2000 crore include the value of granite to be mined? Or is it just the cost to cut and dispose the quarried stones? It is not unusual for big ticket projects in India being h...