Ahead of the coming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh this year, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Rs 14,441 crore for metro projects in Bhopal and Indore. Both the projects would be completed in four years. These two metro rail projects will impact at least three dozen Assembly seats in the State. There will be 30 stations each in both these metro lines and the per km is expected to be between Rs 182 crore and Rs 200 crore.
The Union Cabinet also approved redevelopment of Railway Stations by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC) as Nodal Agency and main Project Development Agency, through simplified procedures and for longer lease tenure of up to 99 years. This program will help provide state-of-the-art amenities for passengers, generate additional revenues and will be overall at least cost neutral to Ministry of Railways (MoR) over a basket of stations. Furthermore, redevelopment of railway stations across the country will have a multiplier effect in the economy with increased job creation and improved economic growth.
The idea of setting up metro rails in Bhopal and Indore was conceived in 2009. This is the first metro proposal, approved after the implementation of new Metro Rail policy. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad made the announcement after the Cabinet meeting and said that the project in Bhopal would be a 50-50 arrangement between the centre and the State Government. The total length of Bhopal metro would be 27.87 kilometres while the expenditure is estimated at Rs 6,941.40 crore. The length of Karond to AIIMS corridor is 14.99 km, which is mostly elevated and partly underground (at Bhopal Railway Station and Bus Station) and comprises of 16 Stations (14-elevated and 2-underground). The length of Bhadbhada to Ratnagiri Tiraha corridor is 12.88 km comprising of 14 stations all elevated. As many as 23 lakh of Bhopal agglomeration area is expected to be benefitted from this project.
The metro project in Indore would run at 31.55 kilometres stretch. It would cover most of the city. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 7,500.80 crore and would also take four years to complete. The Ring Line will be from Bengali Square — Vijay Nagar —Bhawarsala — Airport — Palasia — Bengali Square. As per plan, numbers of stations on the Ring Line are 30.
The Ring line will connect densely populated areas of the city with the new developing areas along with Railway Station, Airport and ABD under Smart City project. The financing of Indore Metro Rail Project will be partly from Central Government and State Government of Madhya Pradesh on equal equity basis and partly as loan from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and New Development Bank (NDB).
