GHAZIABAD: Shelved nearly five years ago due to perceived high costs, the 5km extension of Delhi Metro‘s Blue Line corridor from Noida Electronic City to Sahibabad may be revived. On Friday, Ghaziabad MP Atul Garg said a loan could be obtained from the NCR Planning Board for a period of 20 years and sought reports from GDA and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which is to execute the construction.
A revised project report submitted by DMRC in Jan had pegged the project’s cost at Rs 1,873 crore, up from the estimated Rs 1,517 crore in a 2018 report. The report suggested that 80% of the project cost, which is Rs 1,225.34 crore, should be borne by the state govt through its agencies. UP will foot another Rs 111.8 crore in state taxes.
Of the nearly 26,691 sqm of land required for the route alignment, nearly 7,690sqm is privately owned and is estimated to cost over Rs 223 crore. With funding a key hurdle, GDA had earlier considered obtaining a loan from the NCR Planning Board to finance the crucial corridor.
Garg also reviewed work under 71 central govt schemes, including PMAY, under DISHA and was apprised of the measures to mitigate winter pollution. The MP was informed that PM2.5 and PM10 parameters had considerably come down — from 164.2 in 2017-18 to 77.8 last year. Between Apr 1 and Sept 19 this year, the PM levels were recorded at 45.8.
“Even though particulate matter and AQI levels have come down significantly, effective steps are required to control air pollution. I have been told that the 25km stretch has been repaved, this is nearly 65% of the target. Potholes have been fixed on a 2.5km stretch, which is nearly 36% of the target,” Garg said.
The MP was informed that of the 296 polluting industries identified, 247 were converted to cleaner fuel and 49 closed or dismantled. An environmental compensation of Rs 6 crore was also imposed on 138 polluting units.
Two traffic congestion points — Lal Kuan and Loni tri-section — were also identified and the traffic department directed to keep it free of traffic snarls.
Meanwhile, Garg said efforts were being made to revive the Indirapuram extension project, which had to be placed on the back burner due to issues over compensation to farmers.
The project, spread over 92 hectares of land in Mahiuddinpur Kanawani village, is among the properties the development authority is trying to monetize. In May, a GDA official told TOI that the Authority has reclaimed nearly 60 acres of land in Indirapuram and planned to auction it under commercial and residential categories, which could fetch it over Rs 1,000 crore.
