The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to hand over the East-West Metro project in Kolkata to the Indian Railways. The project is now a joint venture between the state’s transport department and the Union urban development ministry.
The Union urban development ministry, which agreed to transfer its 25% equity to the railways, accepted the argument that the Metro cannot be operated by different agencies.
The state will also transfer its 30% equity to the railways, making it the majority stakeholder in the project that is majorly funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
With the transfer, the railway will be the sole operator of the Metro in Kolkata. In all other cities, the state government and the urban development ministry jointly run the Metro project.
The decision is in line with former railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to declare Kolkata Metro a separate zone of the railways.
No comments:
Post a Comment