As the Standing Committee (SC) is set to discuss the Metro rail project between Pimpri-Chinchwad Industrial Township and Swargate Junction at a meeting scheduled for December 11, it seems that the project will finally gain some much needed momentum.
The proposed 16.59-km-long route — partly elevated and partly underground — has 15 stations. The entire cost of the project, if it commences in January 2014, was pegged at Rs 7,984. In its 2009 report, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had said the project would cost Rs 4,050 crore.u00a0
The delay in implementation by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has doubled the 10 per cent investment — of the total cost of the project — that was supposed to be made by both the corporations. Both the civic bodies were supposed to fund the project for constructing the route in their respective jurisdictions.
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Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak sent a detailed letter to the SC on Tuesday, wherein suggestion to make financial provision for the metro project would be made in the PMC’s financial budget for 2013-14.
“Once we get an approval from the Standing Committee, the project will then be forwarded to the General Body for final approval and then to the state government,” said Standing Committee Chairperson Baburao Chandere.
“While both the civic bodies will pay 10 per cent of the project’s total cost, 20 per cent will be borne by the centre and the state. The remaining amount will be raised through BOT, PPP and various fundraising options,” Pathak mentioned in the letter.
In the past, the Standing Committee and the General Body had approved the 15-km-long Vanaz to Ramwadi Metro Route. Later, the state approved the project and forwarded it to the centre for final approval. The cost of the project that was pegged at Rs 1,948 crore in 2009 has now escalated to Rs 2,593 crore, for 2014.u00a0