NEW DELHI: 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.
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. (IANS)
Also Watch: