Noida Metro Rail Corp to function as a subsidiary of state body

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had decided to constitute UP Metro Rail Corporation for starting Metro services in various districts of the state, at the launch of Lucknow Metro rail service on September 5, 2017.

The Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) will function as a subsidiary of the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation, once it is formed, officials said.

NMRC owns only one project — 30km Noida-Greater Noida Metro Link. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had decided to constitute UP Metro Rail Corporation for starting Metro services in various districts of the state, at the launch of Lucknow Metro rail service on September 5, 2017.

The formation of UPMRC gained momentum following a missive from the union ministry of urban development, which had asked all states to consider the formation of an umbrella Metro rail authority for better coordination and faster clearances.

However, this has led to confusion over the role of the existing Metro bodies that are undertaking work on cleared projects. The NMRC owns 30km Noida-Greater Noida Metro link, which is expected to be opened to the public this April.

“The NMRC will become a subsidiary of UP Metro Rail Corporation that will be formed very soon. UP Metro Rail Corporation will take up future Metro projects in different cities of the state. The NMRC will work under the new corporation,” Rajive Kumar, chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh, said.

Kumar visited Noida on January 15 to review various ongoing projects in areas under Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities.

According to officials, the new entity would be a 50:50 joint venture between the Centre and the state government, for all existing and future Metro projects in UP. The legal framework, however, would remain the same, i.e., the corporation would work under Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act 1978, the Railways Act of 1989 and the Metro Railways (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2002.

On November 8, 2014, the Noida authority had formed NMRC to expedite Metro projects in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway areas to ease the burden on Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which is undertaking several projects in Delhi and other NCR cities. However, NMRC owns only one project — 30km Noida-Greater Noida Metro Link. Since NMRC lacked expertise in the field, it hired the DMRC to build the Noida-Greater Noida Metro link.