14.2.14

Pune Metro update


The Pune metro project moved another step up the ladder after Union minister for urban development (UD) Kamal Nath accorded an in-principle approval for the plan. The project will cover 31.51 km along two corridors—PCMC building to Swargate and Vanaz to Ramwadi.
The approval will enable the state to set the wheels rolling for the early implementation of the project through a Special Purpose Vehicle, equally and jointly owned by the Centre and the state government.
Shashikant Limaye, officer on special duty for the Pune Metro project, said the approval means the Centre will issue a government resolution about the next plan of action and other details for the implementation of the project.
“The Centre will communicate with the state, after which work on the logistics and other details will start. It will take one or two months to get things in place and then actual work would start,” Limaye added.
The Union urban development (UD) ministry has advised the state government to rework the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Pune metro, if needed, with adequate attention to the issues raised by stakeholders before implementation. It would ensure the project’s sustainability, the ministry said.
The Centre has said the design and technology of the system should be in accordance with the revised DPR prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). “In case any change is proposed in the DPR or any condition is proposed at any stage by the government of India or any other competent authority, the state will implement the same,” the Centre added.
The ministry’s statement said the metro project will improve public transport in the city and it would aim to provide a world-class, state-of-the-art metro rail system on the lines of the Delhi metro.
Last October, the state government had decided to go ahead with the metro rail development in Pune. The cabinet revised the completion deadline of phase I from 2014 to 2021. The DMRC report for the Pune Metro had expected the project to be completed by May 30, 2014.
The revised estimate for the project was pegged at Rs.10,183 crore. Now, the project on the Chinchwad-Swargate corridor will cost Rs.6,960 crore and the Vanaz-Ramwadi route will cost Rs.3,223 crore. The cost for both corridors has increased by nearly Rs.2,199 crore as compared to the estimated cost in 2009.
The ruling NCP-Congress leaders in city, with an eye on both the general and state assembly elections, insist that the foundation stone for the project be laid as soon as possible. A senior Congress leader said the ruling alliance would request chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to announce the implementation of the project before the dates for the Lok Sabha elections are announced. 

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