Ghaziabad, Metro Rail News: On Friday the Ghaziabad development authority (GDA) said that the Public Investment Board (PIB) has approved the 9.41-km Metro extension project in Ghaziabad. The project, which will connect the Rithala-Dilshad Garden Line to Ghaziabad’s New Bus Stand, which is in the trial run stage.
The project was placed before the Board during a high-level meeting on December 19, 2018. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has conveyed to the GDA that the revised completion cost of the project is close to ₹1,805 crore, instead of the earlier estimated cost of ₹2,210 crore.
The revised cost included lesser share of DMRC of ₹272 crore and Centre’s share of ₹330 crore. The revised share of UP agencies also came down from the earlier ₹1,480 crore to ₹1,203 crore (inclusive of taxes).
“The final approval by the Centre will help us get the pending share. The project has been approved by the Board and has been forwarded to the Cabinet without any objections and with a recommendation for funds from the Centre,” Kanchan Verma, GDA vice chairperson, said.
For final clearance, the project will now move to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The DMRC had said it will invite the commissioner of Metro rail safety (CMRS) for inspections once the project gets approval from the Centre. “The project will be taken up by the Cabinet which is expected to hold a meeting next week. Once we get clearance, the project will be inaugurated and opened for public after safety clearance inspection,” she added.
In a meeting held January 3, the Ghaziabad district magistrate had directed DMRC to complete all pending works by January 20.
District magistrate Ritu Maheshwari had said finishing works on this Link should be completed beforehand, apart from repairs of broken dividers, painting of Metro pillars and repairs of broken road stretches.
The 9.41km Metro network has stations eight at Shaheed Nagar, Raj Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, Shyam Park, Mohan Nagar, Arthala, river Hindon and New Bus-Stand. “Besides this, we have also asked the DMRC to complete the revised detailed project report of Sector 62 to Mohan Nagar (Phase III) project and submit it at the earliest. We have paid ₹20 lakh to the DMRC for the preparation of the revised report. Once this is received, the phase III project will be sent to the state government for a decision on the funding pattern,” an officer from the authority said.
