KANPUR, AGRA METRO PROJECTS GET UNION CABINET NOD

LUCKNOW : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its nod to the Kanpur and Agra metro rail projects, at a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday.

Welcoming the decision, chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of Kanpur and Agra, which have an estimated population of 41 lakh and 17 lakh, respectively.

Both are historical cities, with large scale industrial and commercial activities. Urbanization and rapid growth of vehicle population has laid severe stress on the urban transport systems in Kanpur and Agra, leading to a deterioration in air quality in both cities.

While approving the metro projects, the cabinet also stipulated that bus services in both cities should be strengthened within one year of approval of the metro projects.

The Kanpur metro project is of 32.4 km length at a total cost of Rs 11,076 crore and the Agra project is of 29.4 km at a total cost of Rs 8,379 crore. These projects will provide seamless connectivity between major residential, commercial, industrial and tourist centres, and will be completed in 5 years.

The Kanpur project will have two corridors and provide smooth connectivity to various densely populated areas.

The Agra project will also have two corridors and pass through densely populated areas.

These metro rail systems will also promote transit oriented development, which will lead to development of more residential and commercial complexes along the corridors.

The funding for the projects will be provided both by GoI and GoUP and also through loan from multilateral agencies. These projects will be implemented by the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC), the existing 50:50 jointly-owned company of GoI and GoUP, which will be reconstituted as ‘Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC)’.