Metro to run in six more Indian cities

With the Delhi Metro gaining perfect marks on the track, the Urban Development Ministry in India is planning to extend the projects to six more cities—Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore—in the country.

Disclosing this at the Consultative Committee meeting, here on Tuesday, the Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy informed that the proposal for setting up Kochi and Chennai Metros have already been given an in principle approval by the Ministry.

He further informed that viability gap funding for Hyderabad Metro and the phase II extension plan of Delhi Metro between Noida and Gurgaon have also been approved in principle.

As part of the centre’s efforts for public transport, the Ministry was providing funds for the Metro projects and also viability gap funding through the Finance Ministry for specific transport projects.

Reddy also said that his Ministry has formulated a National Urban Transport Policy with the focus on ‘moving people—not vehicles’ with the objective of promoting public transport in the country.

Although urban transport is purely a state subject, the Minister said that the need for a national policy was felt as several key enactments were administered by the centre and several key agencies were under the central government. The policy aims to set a framework for state level policies and strategies.

The Minister informed that under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) projects for nine cities had been sanctioned for a total length of 359 km at a cost of Rs 3,352 crore.

The central financial assistance for the project is slated at Rs 1602 crore.