Metro mishap: Design consultancy blacklisted

A committee instituted by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation found that cantilever design did not adequately take into account major concerns of weight. Tandon associates who mislead DMRC has been debarred for 2 years.

A design flaw resulted in the worst accident in the Delhi Metro rail's history killing six and injuring a dozen on July 12.

Arch consultants a Delhi based agency which designed the pillars for Gammon India has been blacklisted for five years.

Sreedharan has also suspending and three metro officials including Rajan Kataria who had approved of the designs has been chargesheeted and the main contractor Gammon has also been served a show cause notice.

While Gammon India has been given a showcause notice, Mr Sreedharan also added that it may not be prudent to remove them altogether.

Gammon India says that it will react only after getting the notice, the company is building the Delhi-Noida metro line and the Delhi-Badarpur line if it is debarred it would mean no new projects from the metro for two years.

"The right thing would be to pack off Gammon India straight away but if we do that they will be a delay of 6-7 months," said Sreedharan, MD, DMRC.

While DMRC says that it is double checking the entire second phase, 18 more pillars have been discovered with hairline cracks while metro says that these do not pose any danger it has said it will be substantially increasing checks to ensure another accident does not happen.