UP government approves 15-km Metro link between Noida Sec 71 and Greater Noida

The Noida authority and Greater Noida authority will be responsible for financing the section of the Metro link under their respective jurisdiction with assistance from the state and central governments. The link will be built by the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC).

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday approved the 15-km Metro link between Noida’s Sector 71 with Greater Noida West’s Sector Knowledge Park-V. The project will be executed in two phases with the first phase connecting Noida to Greater Noida West’s Sector 2.

The Noida-Greater Noida Metro Link project got a push with thousands shifting to residential societies that have come up in Greater Noida. Officials said at least 20,000 families are currently residing in the area. (Burhaan Kinu / HT File)

Details of the projects, such as the starting day and deadline, were yet to be finalised.

According to funding pattern finalised for the project, the Noida authority and Greater Noida authority will be responsible for financing the section of the Metro link under their respective jurisdiction with assistance from the state and central governments. The link will be built by the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC).

The approval for the project was taken during the 113th board meeting chaired by Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey in Greater Noida. The meeting was attended by the chief executive officers (CEOS) of both bodies — Alok Tandon (Noida) and Narendra Bhooshan (Greater Noida).

Chief Secretary Pandey, who is also the chairperson of the Greater Noida authority, directed the two authorities to start work on the crucial project immediately.

The 15-km Metro Link between Noida’s sector 71 and Greater Noida West’s Knowledge Park-V was approved in 2016. However the work on the project could not be started due to fund crunch with both authorities and question marks over whether the project will be viable considering estimated low ridership.

However, with more residential apartments coming up in Greater Noida, the project recently got a push which ultimately resulted in Tuesday’s approval. As of now more than 50,000 families have shifted in around 20 newly constructed housing societies in this area, said officials.

“The 15 km Metro Link between Noida’s sector 71 and Greater Noida West’s Knowledge Park-V was supposed to be constructed with a budget of Rs 2,602 crore. We have approved a proposal to construct this project in two phases,” said Pandey.

The 15 km Metro Link earlier had 9 Metro stations and was proposed to be connected with group housing complexes till Bisrakh village area.

“In first phase we have decided to construct the link with a budget of Rs 1,521 crore and it will have five stops. The Greater Noida authority will spend Rs 151 crore and the rest will have to be borned by the Noida authority, Uttar Pradesh government and the central government,” said Pandey.

“The two authorities will fund the Metro project in proportion to the length that falls into their respective jurisdiction. The Uttar Pradesh and central governments will also contribute their part for this project. We have assigned the NMRC to start work on detailed project report of this project and take the Metro project to next stage,” said Pandey.