Shiv Sena's pet project, a new suburban railway station at Kopri, is all set to get rolling. Officials said the general administrative drawings of the project, worth Rs 119.31 crore, have been approved by the Railways and the state government. Once the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) hands over a 12.35-acre plot and Rs 29.83 crore to the Railways, work on the station will start.

The project, which has been approved under the Centre's Smart City initiative, has been in the talks since 2004. However, according to sources, if everything goes as planned, the station would be ready in the next three years.

Slated to come up close to the Thane Mental Hospital between Mulund and Thane, the project is worth R119.31 crore. Senior railway officials said the state government had already given a nod for transfer of a 14-acre plot to the Railways. They further said that the ball was now in the TMC's court. "The civic body will hand over a plot of about 50,000 square meters (12.35 acres) belonging to the mental hospital to the Central Railway. The TMC also needs to deposit the first installment of R29.83 crore with the Railways. Once this is done, consultants and engineers from TMC will finalize the design and drawings. A crucial pipeline of the BMC that supplies water to Mumbai also needs to be shifted for the project," an official said.

Once all of this is over, a tripartite agreement will be signed between the Ministry of Railways, TMC and Thane Smart City Limited following which the tendering process for groundwork will start," he added. As per the plans of the Central Railway, the station will have three platforms, three 10-meter-wide foot-over-bridges, and a three-story building.

Sources said that with the Sena forming the government, Sena MP from Thane, Rajan Vichare and TMC leaders have expedited the project and land transfers for the station would soon start.

Civic officials said that the project would take off once the Thane Mental Hospital gets a new wing to free up the existing plot. Once the plot is handed over to the Railways, CR would take about three years to complete the project, they added.

(source Mid-day)