Patna, Surat, Agra, Bhopal, Indore metro projects chugging at snail's pace: Centre

A field report by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs stated that the progress of the metro projects in Patna, Surat, Agra, Bhopal and Indore is chugging at a slow pace. "Of these specific metro projects, the progress of Patna, Bhopal and Indore is very poor. All these three were nonstarters for a long time. We asked the State governments concerned to appoint a full-time MD for these projects," a senior official from MoHUA told ETV Bharat.

New Delhi:Being aware of the fact that metro rail projects in Patna, Surat, Agra, Bhopal and Indore are progressing at a snail's pace, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has asked the State governments concerned to appoint a full-time Managing Director (MD) for the metro projects and adhere to the new projected deadline.

A field report by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs stated that the progress of the metro projects in Patna, Surat, Agra, Bhopal and Indore is chugging at a slow pace. "Of these specific metro projects, the progress of Patna, Bhopal and Indore is very poor. All these three were nonstarters for a long time. We asked the State governments concerned to appoint a full-time MD for these projects," a senior official from MoHUA told ETV Bharat.

Admitting the fact that metro projects are very complicated, the official said pre-qualification of tenders, requirements, terms and conditions are also very complicated. "If any metro project has part-time MD, it becomes very difficult to understand the issues related to the metro projects. Sometimes, change of CEOs on regular intervals is also a major issue," the official said. Of the total 12 metro projects in the country, Delhi Metro, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited, Kochi Metro Rail Limited, National Capital Region Transport Corporation, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation and Chennai Metro Rail Limited have full-time MDs.

On the other hand, Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation, Mumbai Metro Line III, Noida Metro Rail Corporation, Patna Metro Rail Project and Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited have MDs with additional charges. The deadlines of all these metro projects, including Patna, Surat, Agra, Bhopal and Indore, have been extended to accomplish their projects. Sanctioned in 2019, the 32.50 km long Patna metro project, which had a February 2024 deadline was extended to February 2027. Till date, the Patna project achieved 5.50 per cent physical progress and 9.97 per cent financial progress.

Similarly, the Surat Metro Project got an extended deadline from June 2024 to March 2025. It has finished 13.75 per cent of physical work and achieved 11.31 per cent financial progress. The Agra metro project's projected deadline is December 31, 2025. The deadline for the Bhopal metro project was extended from November 2022 to December 2026. Whereas the deadline for the Indore metro project was extended from November 2022 to December 2026. The official said that as on February 1, 2023, the Central government has released Rs 17,879.48 crore for the implementation of the metro projects.