Centre refuses CM’s request to fund project

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 12

It is unlikely that the central government will bear the Delhi government’s share of funding the proposed Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has reportedly indicated the decision of the government in response to a recent request by Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal to pay the share of his government for building the 82 km high-speed corridor.

The total estimated cost of the corridor is about Rs 31,902 crore and the Delhi governemnt’s share is supposed to be Rs 1,138 crore.

In a recent letter to Puri, the CM had cited inability to support the project due to inadequate funds. In this regard, the central government has suggested that it can help the state government to secure loans at cheaper interest rate for the rapid corridor, which connects Sarai Kale Khan Terminus Station to Meerut.

The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor — which happens to be one of the three rapid-rail corridors planned under Phase-I of RRTS project — has three stations in the national Capital, with Anand Vihar and new Ashok Nagar being the other two and aims to reduce the travel time between Delhi and Meerut to about an hour.