Will focus on completing Metro-3 in time: New MMRC MD

The new managing director (MD) of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), Ranjit Singh Deol, who took charge on Thursday, said his main focus will be on timely completion

The new managing director (MD) of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), Ranjit Singh Deol, who took charge on Thursday, said his main focus will be on timely completion of the Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) project.

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“We will follow the vision set by the state government and our main focus will be on timely completion of the project,” said Deol, who replaced Ashwini Bhide as the MD of the corporation.

Deol holds a graduate degree in electronics and is a 1998 batch IAS officer. He was previously the vice-chairman and MD of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation.

Bhide, whose new posting in not known yet, has become the face of the Metro-3 project since she took charge in 2015. While she has been credited for implementing the project rapidly, she also invited criticism from environmental activists after MMRC felled more than 2,000 trees in Aarey for the Metro-3 car-shed in 2019. On Thursday, the outgoing MD also addressed her staff at the MMRC office in Bandra-Kurla Complex, after which she tweeted: “Handed over my charge as MD MMRC to my dear collegue in the #IAS Ranjitsingh Deol. It was a fascinating journey which I would cherish forever...”