M A I N   N E W S

Towns with population of 20 lakh & above to have Metro link
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 17
The country’s Metro rail system is spreading its span with the Centre today announcing the modern transit system for all cities with a population of 20 lakh and above. Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath today said all Indian towns with the population of 20 lakh and above would have Metro rails to meet the growing demand for improved, efficient and rapid transit system.

The announcement will come as a relief to several cities in the country. The country’s urban population is expected to touch 54 crore during the next decade. According to the 2011 Census, as many as 19 cities in the country currently boast of the population figure that fulfils the criteria for a Metro rail.

Besides major metropolitan cities, the list includes cities like Surat and Kanpur for which there is nothing in the pipeline as of now.

Apart from the ongoing projects for Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has prepared detailed project reports (DPRs) for Ludhiana, Pune, Ahmedabad and Lukhnow. It is currently preparing DPRs for Indore, Bhopal and Chandigarh. Nath has also written to the Maharashtra CM, asking him to initiate a DPR for Nagpur Metro.

Besides, the government has sanctioned Stage-I of the Jaipur Metro at a cost of Rs 1,250 crore to be funded entirely by the state government and is obtaining approval for funding on the PPP basis for Rs-7700 crore Stage-II. The 25.3-km Kochi Metro, to be build at a cost of Rs 4722 crore, is awaiting Cabinet approval.

Once the Phase-IV of the Delhi Metro is completed, the flag bearer of Metro rail projects in India - the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation - will surpass the London Underground. “The government has sanctioned Rs 35,242 crore for phase III Metro rail project in Delhi. This is the largest urban infrastructure project in the country till date. The Phase-IV of the Delhi Metro project will be ready by 2016. Once this project is completed, 40 lakh passengers will travel everyday,” Nath said. To cater to the increasing network, the government has undertaken a capacity building strategy. The AICTE has approved a B.Tech in Metro engineering which will begin from 2013. A separate programme for M.Tech in urban transport with specialisation in Metro technology in the IIT-Delhi and the IIT-Madras is being pursued. Metro training institutes have been set up by the Delhi Metro and the Bangalore Metro. Research and Design cell for indigenisation as well as R&D to reduce costs and provide a ready source for spares and replacements are being set up.

Funding row hits Ludhiana project

About the Ludhiana Metro project, the DPR for which was approved by the state Cabinet in June, Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath says his ministry has received “no further communication from the state government”. Sources say the issue regarding funds for the Rs 8,705-crore Ludhiana project still remains unresolved. The poll-bound state may have cleared the DPR, but it continues to look at the Centre for funding.

Chandigarh Metro

Regarding the Chandigarh Metro, doubts about financial viability of which were raised by none other than metro man E Sreedharan, Nath said the government would try to resolve the issue. Sreedharan had called the mega project “technically feasible but financially not viable.” He, however, justified it in view of the unique position of Chandigarh, struggling with increasing vehicular pollution.