State for metro rail under Central Act

State for metro rail under Central Act
Vijay Times News

Bangalore: The State Government has ruled out the possibility of the proposed Bangalore Metro Rail project being taken up under 'BOOT'(Build Own Operate Transfer) arrangement. It would, on the other hand, approach the Centre for bringing the project under the ambit of the 'Metro Rail Act'.

Informing this to the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Industries and Infrastructure Minister P G R Sindhia said that the State Government would pressurise the Centre to bring the project under the act so that Karnataka availed the concessions available under the central scheme.

Sindhia, who was replying to questions raised by Basavaraj Bommai (JD-U), Ramachandra Gowda (BJP) and V S Ugrappa (Congress) under rule 330, said that the works on the metro rail project would start by the beginning of next year. The details of the project had been finalised, he said.

Giving details of the project, Sindhia said it was planned to lay rail line of 37kms in the first phase of which 9 kms would be underground. The Rs 5605 crore project would have the rail line running east to west from from Mysore road to Byappanahalli via Deepanajalisnagar, Vijaynagar, Hosahalli, Magadi road, Majestic, Vidhana Soudha, M G Road, C M H road, Indiranagar and old Madras road. On its north-south direction, the rail line would be from Yeshwanthpur to R V Road via Mahalakshmi layout, Rajajinagar, Kuvempu road, Swastik circle, Majestic, Chikpet, City market, K R road, Lalbagh and south end circle.

Sindhia said that Rs 660 crore had been collected through infrastructure cess introduced in 1996. The State Government had approached Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjees for transfer of 165 acres of defence land in and around Bangalore for the rail project.

The minister noted that two more projects, of Rs 1,600 crore and Rs 1,500 crore, were being planned for the development of infrastructure. The former related to metro rail and aimed at providing link to outskirts of Bangalore city and the latter to construction of a sophisticated road link for carrying cargo from Byappanahalli and Bangalore International airport. The Planning Commission had approved the projects in 2004 and were included in the Central budget this year, he said.