RITES to submit draft DPR for Patna metro rail project by May

The Patna metro rail project may see the light of the day soon as RITES, the Railways' PSU, is likely to submit its final draft DPR in this regard by next month, a minister said on Wednesday.

The Patna metro rail project may see the light of the day soon as RITES, the Railways' PSU, is likely to submit its final draft DPR in this regard by next month, a minister said on Wednesday.

"RITES is in the process of submitting a final draft DPR on the Patna metro rail project, which will be constructed on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode at an estimated cost of Rs. 11,545 crore," state urban and housing development minister Awadesh Prasad Kushwaha told legislative Assembly during his reply on his department's budgetary demand of Rs. 2,169.85 crore for 2015-16.

In order to fast track construction of the Patna metro rail project, the state government is in the process of setting up the Patna Metro Corporation, he said.

Kushwaha said a conference had already been held in the state capital to seek private investment for the Patna metro project under PPP mode.

During the course of debate on the Urban and Housing Development department's budgetary demand, Leader of Opposition Nandkishore Yadav tried to nail the state government on lack of allocation for the Chief Minister's Urban Development scheme launched by Nitish Kumar in 2007-08 to take up civil amenities and urban infrastructure on recommendation of the legislators.

Raising the issue in Kumar's presence, Yadav charged the Urban and Housing Development department with non-allocation of funds towards the scheme to which Kumar replied that the state government was committed to continue it and he would look into the matter and rectify it.

The House later passed the Urban and Housing Development department's budgetary demand by voice vote with the opposition BJP members participating in the post-lunch proceedings, unlike other days when it used to staged walk outs at the fag end of the day's business.