Given that Delhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan had objected to the allotment of prime land to Maytas (terming it as "selling the family silver"), the state is looking into the project once again. No land has been transferred for the Metro project yet, so it can easily call for fresh bids. For the Machilipatnam Port project, however, the government has already transferred 412 acres to Maytas.
For now, the AP government is examining the financial capability of Maytas. It needs to raise a lot of money in the immediate future to meet its capital requirements—Rs 1,200 crore for the Metro and other projects in the next two years. This may be difficult now, thanks to the Satyam fiasco and a depressed market for funds.
Even the much-touted ambulance project 108 EMRI, in which the state holds a 95 per cent stake (Satyam has 5 per cent), has come under a cloud. The CEO of 108, Venkat Chengavalli, has said that Raju should quit from its governing body. Clearly, philanthropy and controversy don’t mix well.
