Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and DMRC chief Mangu Singh flagged off the first train from Nehru Enclave station, Monday. (Express photo/Praveen Khanna)
The deadlock over the Delhi Metro’s Phase IV proposal played out during the launch of the 24-km-long section of the Magenta Line Monday, with Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri indicating that the Centre will take a “decision” if the Delhi government remains indecisive.
Puri raised the issue while addressing reporters at the Hauz Khas station, after he and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off the first train from the Nehru Enclave station.
Kejriwal said the Phase IV proposal, which has been examined by the Finance Department, will soon be brought to the Cabinet. He had made a similar assertion on March 15 while launching the first section of the Pink Line between Majlis Park and Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus stations.
The Phase IV proposal has been pending for nearly three years now.
The CM said the finance department had flagged certain objections to the Rs 55,000-crore proposal. An official from the department had earlier claimed that it has cleared four of the six proposed corridors and that it was now up to the Cabinet.
Following repeated queries on Phase IV, Puri said the elected government will bring the proposal to the Cabinet first. “There is a decision-making process…” he said. He also said that the Centre will look into the shortcomings, if any, on the Delhi government’s part and take a decision. However, he did not elaborate further.
This is not the first time that Puri has hinted that the Centre may find alternate ways to implement the project, which will bring several areas of outer Delhi under the Metro grid. In March, he had said if the Delhi government was unwilling to approve a project or provide funding, the Centre would work out a solution.
The four proposed lines that have been cleared by the finance department are Janakpuri West-R K Ashram (28.92 km), Mukundpur-Maujpur (12.54 km), Inderlok-Indraprastha (12.58 km ) and Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block (7.96 km).
Former Principal Secretary, Finance, S N Sahai had red-flagged the Rithala-Narela (21.73 km) and Tughlakabad-Terminal 1 (22 km) corridors, citing potential losses.
The Delhi government and the Centre follow a 50-50 equity sharing model in the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
After the inauguration, the dignitaries travelled till the Hauz Khas Metro station.
The stretch will be open to the public on Tuesday. Twenty-four trains will run on the corridor, with a frequency of five minutes and 15 seconds during peak hours. Services will start at 6 am Monday to Saturday, while on Sundays, it will begin at 8 am.
With the opening of this stretch, the entire Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden Magenta Line corridor has become operational.