Mangu Singh to be new Delhi Metro chief

New Delhi, Oct 20: Delhi metro's present chief, E Sreedharan is expected to hand over the charge to in-house choice Mangu Singh, who is the current director of metro works in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

Sreedharan, who has been heading Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) since 2002, was given three extraordinary extensions by Delhi government, which wanted him to stay on till the launch of Metro's Phase III. Sreedharan is going to complete his final term in Dec 31, 2011. Singh appeared as a strong contender for the post in view of his outstanding record at the DMRC.

Sources said there was support over Singh's candidature within the selection committee and Delhi government will now send the recommendation to the urban development ministry for its further approval.

Meanwhile, Singh is the in-charge of Metro's Phase III expansion plan and is also the in-charge of the Delhi's first private sector Metro corridor, which will be the high-speed Airport Express line. He was Metro's key person for coordinating and overseeing smooth implementation of the project.

Among six candidates shortlisted for the post were DMRC executive director (electrical) Sharat Sharma and Vijay Anand, a former DMRC employee. Working with Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, Anand was responsible for planning, designing, execution, monitoring and commissioning of the 20-km long Dwarka-Noida corridor in record time. The three other shortlisted candidates were also from railways, Vipin Jha of North Frontier Railway, Sudhir Mittal of South Eastern Railway, Kolkata, and R K Gupta, managing director, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation.

Singh is also in-charge for consultancy works undertaken by DMRC for planning Metro systems in cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Kochi. A railways civil engineer, Singh was also involved in the construction of Kolkata Metro and the underground work of Delhi Metro's Phase I.

OneIndia News