Ghaziabad: Uttar Pradesh finance minister Suresh Khanna, during his visit to Ghaziabad on Friday, assured officials that he will look into issues of funding for Phase 3 of Metro in Ghaziabad. Khanna is also the minister in charge of the infrastructure and development activities of the district.
The issues pertaining to Phase 3 of Metro, proposed to link Sector 62 in Noida to Mohan Nagar in Ghaziabad, have been pending resolution for the past several months. The project is pegged at ₹1,866 crore, as per January 2019 estimates, and the Delhi Metro Road Corporation (DMRC) has already submitted a revised detailed project report to the authority. The GDA has sought a further revision to bring the station in Sahibabad closer to the alignment of the Regional Rapid Transit System project.
Answering a query raised by HT over the issue of Metro funding, Khanna said, “The funding issues will be taken care of and the state government will see to it that there is no problem of funding for Metro projects in Ghaziabad. Metro is a lifeline for thousands of commuters and such projects will help in reducing traffic congestion.”
The GDA has written to the state government to provide funds as the present cost of the Phase 3 will be borne 80% by the state government and 20% by the Centre. The GDA officials said the DMRC will not be paying for the rolling stock. Hence, the share will have to borne by the UP agencies such as the GDA.
{{/usCountry}}The GDA has written to the state government to provide funds as the present cost of the Phase 3 will be borne 80% by the state government and 20% by the Centre. The GDA officials said the DMRC will not be paying for the rolling stock. Hence, the share will have to borne by the UP agencies such as the GDA.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday, the residents in Indirapuram also discussed the issue of Metro funding with Sahibabad MLA Sunil Sharma and asked him to expedite funds from the state government.
“During the meeting, a number of residents demanded expediting the Metro project to link Noida and Ghaziabad. We have told the MLA that GDA has collected external development charges and we are ready to even a Metro cess. But the state government should help with funds so that the project takes off,” Alok Kumar, founder member of the federation of association of apartment owners, said.
MLA Sharma was also present at the meeting called by minister Khanna on Friday.
Recently, the UP government gave clearance for the formation of UP Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) which will provide state funding to different Metro projects in the state. But Ghaziabad Metro projects have not been included under the UPMRC.
“We have discussed the issue with residents and we will speak to the state government officials so that the project gets the required funds,” Sharma said.