Delhi govt hints at clearing path for Metro’s Phase-iv

NEWDELHI: Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Monday directed his department to prepare a cabinet proposal for clearing the much-delayed Metro Phase-iv project. The move comes two years after the Delhi government gave an in-principle approval to all the six proposed lines in the project and later refused to clear two corridors as it felt they were not feasible.

In a note to the commissioner (transport), Varsha Joshi, the minister stated that the matter should be taken up in the next cabinet meeting of the Delhi government. “Please put up a cabinet note with regard to Delhi Metro Phase-iv project, so that it can be considered in the next meeting of council of ministers. All six corridors may be taken up,” Gahlot wrote in the note, making it the first official green signal from the Delhi government’s side ever since May 2016, when it had given an in-principle approval to the 104-km Metro network.

Officials of the transport department said approval to the six new Metro lines could either be given this week or next week, whenever the next cabinet meeting is held. But, for nearly a year, the Delhi government had maintained that it did not find two of the six lines in the Phase-iv network “financially viable”.

In April this year, it “rejected” the proposed 21.73-km RithalaNarela corridor and the 22-km Tughlakabad-terminal 1 section, citing “financial losses”. The finance department, which was asked to study the Phase-iv project, had cleared only four lines -- Janakpuri West-rk Ashram (28.92km), MukundpurMaujpur (12.54km), Inderlok-indraprastha (12.58km ) and Lajpat Nagar-saket G Block (7.96 km).

This had resulted in a tussle between the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs and the Delhi government, with the former stating that it could go ahead with the project without the state’s approval. However, the ministry did not proceed in that direction and continued to wait for an approval from the Aam Aadmi Party government.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said after it receives the state government’s approval, it will approach the Centre for its nod. “Work can begin only after we get approvals from both, the Centre and the Delhi government. Once the approvals are in place, we will begin remobilising our men and machinery for the new lines, which is also probably going to be the last metro expansion project within the national capital,” a Metro spokesperson said.

The corporation added that currently finishing work is being done on some portions of the Phase-iii project, majority lines in which have already been thrown open to public.