Ghaziabad Metro line to get cleared by Centre

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Noida: The contract for the Centre’s share towards the 9.1 km Ghaziabad Metro Line project has been handled by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs. MoHUA officials informed Ghaziabad development authority about the proposal and said the project is under consideration.

The GDA officials had attended the meeting with the ministry officials and were assured that the process would be expedited for the project. The project is fixed at Rs 2,210 crore and the trial run is likely to start soon. Ritu Maheshwari, authority’s vice-chairperson, said “the Clearance from the Centre will release funds to boost the project”.

The Ghaziabad development authority should get the detailed report of the other two proposed extensions – Noida Sector 62 to Sahibabad and Vaishali to Mohan Nagar said the ministry officials. The project should be approved by the state government.

“The ministry officials have also assured us that once the DPR of the two extensions is cleared by the UP government, they will hold a separate meeting with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) about their share towards the rolling stock,” she said.

The officials said the DMRC has shared the rolling stock in the old Metro extension project in Ghaziabad. Once this is done, the share of UP agencies towards the project cost would come down.

The DMRC officials said that they may go ahead only with the Vaishali to Mohan Nagar route if there are funding issues.

Further, the authority officials also discussed the ‘control and command centre’ for integration of various services for citizens. The officials said the project is pegged at nearly ₹300-350 crore. It will enable agencies to manage and control various public services via single platform. The services include traffic, transport, waste management, water, and electricity.

“We will shortly prepare the detailed project report (DPR). Ten percent of the cost of the DPR will be shared by the municipal corporation and we will also approach other agencies for funds. We are trying to get support for the project from the urban ministry,” Maheshwari said.

The officials said they have also pitched a project for moving underground the overhead electricity lines. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 700 crore.