Agra, Kanpur Metro projects await nod

LUCKNOW : The Uttar Pradesh Government is yet to receive official clearance for Agra and Kanpur Metro Rail more than three-weeks after the Public Investment Board (PIB) reportedly cleared decks for the projects, according to a state government official.

“The minutes of the PIB meeting on February 10 are yet to reach us. We were told that both the projects received the go-ahead,” said a senior government official.

According to him, five projects were on the agenda of this meeting. “Of these while Patna, Ahmedabad and the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor of RRTS have received the cabinet nod on February 19, Agra and Kanpur Metro rail projects are still awaiting sanction,” the official said.

With Election Commission expected to announce schedule for Lok Sabha polls 2019 in the first week of March, the fate of these two projects hangs in balance if PIB fails to expedite the clearance, says the official.

According to Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation, the nodal agency for Metro projects in UP, both Agra and Kanpur metro projects would be implemented on equity sharing basis with the state and central government pitching in with equal share. “The Uttar Pradesh government has allocated ₹175 crore for these two projects in the budget 2019,” the official said adding that an order has also been issued for appointment of a consultant to oversee and prepare the blueprints of all other future urban mass transport ventures.

While the Agra Metro would have a total network of 30-kilometer and run on two corridors, foundation stone of the Kanpur Metro Rail was laid in 2016 during the Akhilesh Yadav Government.

The project could not get off the ground as its DPR along with that of proposed Varanasi Metro Rail was turned down by the PIB, which asked the authorities to re-evaluate them in the light of the new metro rail policy. Other cities where metro rail projects are in the pipeline include Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Jhansi and Meerut.

“After the DPR is cleared by the state Cabinet, it is forwarded to the Centre for vetting and approval, since these are joint venture projects and the central government has to come on board statutorily.

The new Metro Rail Policy provides for rigorous assessment of new metro proposals and proposes an independent third party assessment by agencies to be identified by the government like the Institute of Urban Transport and other such centres of excellence,” he said.

According to him, Mini Metro Rails were most suitable for tier III towns, such as Varanasi and Gorakhpur, since they were cost effective and economical projects compared to regular or medium sized metros.

“Presently, all operational metro rail projects in India barring Delhi Metro are medium metro projects, since their passenger carriage capacity is low,” he pointed out. As of now, three UP towns have operational metro rail services, including Noida, Lucknow and Ghaziabad.

WITH EC EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE SCHEDULE FOR LS POLLS 2019 IN THE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH, THE FATE OF THESE TWO PROJECTS HANGS IN BALANCE IF PIB FAILS TO EXPEDITE THE CLEARANCE, SAYS THE OFFICIAL