Delhi govt studying viability of fourth phase Metro project

NEW DELHI: Delhi government is studying feasibility of fourth phase of Delhi Metro projects, which will have six corridors and 103 kilometer networks, but it is not viable given the number of commuters and fares, Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia replied to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who has alleged that the Delhi government's 'delay' in approving phase four of Delhi Metro and the Centre has decided to implement it on its own.

The AAP government had in January 2017 given in-principle approval but the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry returned the file, saying it needed to get financial approval first. Sisodia said that the Union government has enough money. "The Centre could easily start construction of the fourth phase. They are not worried about commuters," Sisodia said. "Metro lost over three lakh commuters a day after a fare hike came in last October. The Union Ministry hiked twice Metro within five months," said a senior Delhi govt officer.

It is pertinent to mention that Delhi government is equal stake-holders in terms of finance in construction of Delhi Metro projects, but the Centre implemented hike in metro fare arbitrarily. The fourth phase will have six new routes with a total length of around 103 km, and will be completed in six years at a cost of around Rs 50,000 crores, said a senior officer of CMO.

The proposed corridors are Rithala - Narela (21.73 km) Inderlok Indraprastha (12.58 km), Tughlakabad Aerocity (20.20 km), Lajpat Nagar Saket G-Block (7.96 km), Janakpuri (west) - RK Ashram (28.92 km) and Mukundpur-Maujpur (12.54 km). While as per the revised DPR, the Tughlakabad line was to stretch till Terminal 1 of Airport, the proposal cleared by the Cabinet says it will end a station before. "Some changes have been made," Sisodia said when asked about the changes brought in the final approved version of the project. Of its total length, 67 km would be elevated and the rest underground, Sisodia said, adding that the mass rapid transit's ridership will increase by about 8.5 lakh once it is operational.

According to Sources, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC) has sent a revised detailed projects reports (DPRS) of three corridors for the Fourth phase of metro to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Delhi Government for approval. The corridors are Janakpuri West-RK Ashram, Aero City to Tughlakabad and Mukundpur to Maujpur. The total cost of three corridors is estimated at Rs 34,500 crore.