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Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai projects in limbo
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, March 22
The BJP-led governments at the Centre and the State may have been beating the drum to go a whole hog on the Pune & Nagpur Metro Rail projects, but the railway ministry headed by Suresh Prabhu disclosed that not a single rupee has been released either for the Nagpur Metro railway project in the current year. So much so, the much-hyped ` 23136 crore Mumbai Metro Line-3 project has not seen any funds during the current year.
While the railways has released massive funds to the tune of ` 9030 crores during the past three years for the Delhi Metro Phase-III and ` 6755 for Chennai Metro Phase-I, ` 609 crores for Kochi Metro and other states, no monies released for Maharashtra
No doubt, the Nagpur Metro Rail and Mumbai Metro Line-3 projects figure in the railway ministry's list of projects cleared. But not a single rupee was spent during the current year despite Modi government coming to power for almost a year now. Surprisingly, the Maharashtra government has hurriedly announced the allocation of ` 175 crores for the Pune Metro Rail project in its budget for the year 2015-16. But, the railway ministry asserted in Parliament that the Pune Metro Rail Project Phase-I is still in the process of appraisal/approval. The estimated project cost of the Pune Metro is ` 11,802 crores. No doubt, all these three projects have to be on the basis of partnership with Maharashtra government.
However, despite the much fanfare and hype created by the State leadership basking in the glory of railway minister Suresh Prabhu, the funds are not coming for the Metro Rail projects.The railway minister himself has told the Lok Sabha on March 4 in response to a question over Pune, Nagpur & Mumbai metro lines. While the Mumbai and Nagpur projects have been cleared in principle, the Pune Metroline project is under appraisal. But no monies have been allocated even for the sanctioned project so far.
It is asserted that the Union government has made an allocation of ` 126.58 crore for Pune Metro rail in its 2015-16 budget and the Fadnavis government has proposed to allocate ` 175 crore which has been delayed due to lack of consensus on stretches.
The BJP-led government had been facing criticism for "discriminating with Pune" by pushing Nagpur Metro. The State government also made a provision of `197 crore for Nagpur Metro. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had submitted the revised detailed proposal for Pune of ` 10,869 crore. The State government is in the process of setting up special purpose vehicle company to be named as Nagpur Metro Railway Corporation Ltd in which various stake holders will be directors.
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, March 22
The BJP-led governments at the Centre and the State may have been beating the drum to go a whole hog on the Pune & Nagpur Metro Rail projects, but the railway ministry headed by Suresh Prabhu disclosed that not a single rupee has been released either for the Nagpur Metro railway project in the current year. So much so, the much-hyped ` 23136 crore Mumbai Metro Line-3 project has not seen any funds during the current year.
While the railways has released massive funds to the tune of ` 9030 crores during the past three years for the Delhi Metro Phase-III and ` 6755 for Chennai Metro Phase-I, ` 609 crores for Kochi Metro and other states, no monies released for Maharashtra
No doubt, the Nagpur Metro Rail and Mumbai Metro Line-3 projects figure in the railway ministry's list of projects cleared. But not a single rupee was spent during the current year despite Modi government coming to power for almost a year now. Surprisingly, the Maharashtra government has hurriedly announced the allocation of ` 175 crores for the Pune Metro Rail project in its budget for the year 2015-16. But, the railway ministry asserted in Parliament that the Pune Metro Rail Project Phase-I is still in the process of appraisal/approval. The estimated project cost of the Pune Metro is ` 11,802 crores. No doubt, all these three projects have to be on the basis of partnership with Maharashtra government.
However, despite the much fanfare and hype created by the State leadership basking in the glory of railway minister Suresh Prabhu, the funds are not coming for the Metro Rail projects.The railway minister himself has told the Lok Sabha on March 4 in response to a question over Pune, Nagpur & Mumbai metro lines. While the Mumbai and Nagpur projects have been cleared in principle, the Pune Metroline project is under appraisal. But no monies have been allocated even for the sanctioned project so far.
It is asserted that the Union government has made an allocation of ` 126.58 crore for Pune Metro rail in its 2015-16 budget and the Fadnavis government has proposed to allocate ` 175 crore which has been delayed due to lack of consensus on stretches.
The BJP-led government had been facing criticism for "discriminating with Pune" by pushing Nagpur Metro. The State government also made a provision of `197 crore for Nagpur Metro. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had submitted the revised detailed proposal for Pune of ` 10,869 crore. The State government is in the process of setting up special purpose vehicle company to be named as Nagpur Metro Railway Corporation Ltd in which various stake holders will be directors.
