Centre receives 16 proposals for metro projects from states/UTs

Amresh Srivastava

New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) With an aim to provide speedy and clean urban transport system to the public, seven states and two Union Territories have sent 16 proposals for the expansion/fresh construction of metro rail projects to the Centre.

The proposals also include three regional rapid transport systems that will connect different parts of Haryana and Rajasthan with Delhi, as well as two from Jammu and Kashmir.

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had told the Lok Sabha on February 10, that urban transport was an integral part of urban development, and while it is the responsibility of the state governments concerned to initiate, develop, and fund urban transport infrastructure including metro rail projects, the Central government considers financial assistance to such projects under the Metro Rail Policy, 2017.

"Based on the feasibility of the proposal and availability of resources, the Central government considers such projects in cities or urban agglomerates," Puri said, adding that no new metro rail proposal was submitted by the Gujarat government for funding.

Of the 16 proposals, the most (three) were from Maharashtra, and included construction of the 43.80-km-long second phase of Nagpur Metro in five years from the date of approval. Similarly, the state has submitted a proposal for a 33-km-long Nashik Metro, to be completed in four years from the date of approval.

The third proposal is for a 29-km-long Thane Internal Ring Project, likely to be completed in five years from the date of its approval.

Puri said that the Delhi government has sent a proposal for constructing three remaining corridors of Delhi Metro under the fourth phase with a total length of 43.677 km, to be completed in five years from the start of work.

The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has also received two metro rail projects from Kerala for Kochi Metro, of which a two-km-long stretch under Phase 1A which is likely to be completed by June this year. Another project is of 11.20-km-long corridor in Phase II that will likely be completed in four years from the date of its sanction.

Uttar Pradesh has sent two proposals - one for the extension of 14.958-km-long Noida Metro from Sector 51 in Noida to Knowledge Park in Greater Noida, likely to be completed in 38 months from the date of its approval, and the second for a 15.14-km-long Gorakhpur MetroLite project in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's home city, to be completed in four years from the date of sanction.

From Jammu and Kashmir, a 23-km-long MetroLite project in Jammu and of the same length for Srinagar have been proposed, with a completion date of March 2026.

The Tamil Nadu government has also sent a proposal for construction of 118.9-km-long second phase of Chennai Metro which is likely to be completed in six years from the date of sanction.

The Centre has received a proposal for construction of 28.50-km-long Metro Rail Connectivity project that will connect from HUDA City Centre to Cyber City in Gurugram, and is likely to be completed in five years from the date of the sanction.

It has received the proposal to construct a 22.424-km-long MetroNeo project in Uttarakhand capital Dehradun, likely to be completed in three years from the date of sanction.

The three proposed Regional Rapid Transport Systems (RRTS), connecting various parts of Rajasthan and Haryana with Delhi, include the 107-km-long Delhi-SNB, and the 33.3-km-long SNB-Sotanala, connecting Delhi, Gurugram, Shahjahanpur, Neemrana, and Behror in Haryana and Rajasthan. These two projects are expected to be completed in six years and five years respectively from the date of sanctions.

The third project is 103.02-km long-Delhi-Panipat RRTS that will connect the national capital with Haryana's Sonipat and Panipat and is likely to be completed in six years from the date of sanction.