CHENNAI: The union government has allocated Rs 3,273.55 crore for Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) since 2018, the lowest allocation among metro rail projects across the country. The data was submitted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
The highest allocation was for Maharashtra, which received Rs 28,877 crore for metro projects in Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune. Meanwhile, Bengaluru Metro (BMRCL) received Rs 19,236 crore during the same period. Metro rail projects in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, Kanpur and Agra got Rs 12,919 crore while Rs 15,218 crore was allotted to Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Surat metro.
According to an RTI reply received by activist Dayanand Krishnan, the Tamil Nadu government had written to the union government at least seven times, seeking approval for Phase II of Chennai metro. The state government has accorded approval for the implementation of three metro rail corridors, covering a length of 118.9 kilometres under Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail Project. The state government has also approached the union government seeking funds in a 50:50 ratio and loan assistance from bilateral/multilateral agencies.
The state government’s proposal is under the consideration of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
A senior CMRL official said a proposal sent to the union government to become an equity partner for Phase II of the Chennai metro project is pending approval. “Once it is approved, the situation will change,” a senior CMRL official said.
The Rs 61,843-crore Chennai Metro Rail Phase II project is yet to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, even though the Public Investment Board approved the project two years ago.
The state government has funded the project, pinning hopes on the union government to approve the proposal, and has allocated Rs 10,000 crore for the purpose in the state budget.
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