After being asked by the Minister of Railways to reconsider certain conditions raised by the State government to take up the suburban rail project, the latter on Tuesday came out with an order resolving six major issues.
The State government has agreed to take up the 161-km suburban rail network project in the first phase as mutually agreed with the Ministry of Railways. An order issued on Tuesday stated that a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will plan the services to Tumakuru, Doddaballapur, Ramanagar and other towns near Bengaluru on the extended corridors by utilising the existing rail network. It will cost ₹23,093 crore to implement the project.
Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development Department Mahendra Jain said that the order issued by the State government will help expedite the project.
Earlier, the State government had asked the Railways to increase the scope of the project to 360 km. The Railways had replied that extension of the network to satellite towns could be considered at a later stage.
Deputy General Manager and Chief PRO of SWR E. Vijaya said, “The in-principle approval given by the State government for the DPR of suburban rail network has been rectified now as mutually agreed in discussion of Minister of Railways and Chief Minister held on February 22.”
The official further said that further processing of DPR will be expedited by Railways as early as possible.
FSI up to 5 cleared
The State Cabinet has given its approval for land owned by the Railways and the State government to be taken on a nominal lease of ₹1 per acre. The order further stated that Railways will be allowed a Floor Space Index (FSI) of 5 in the influence zone of its land as governed by local regulations.
“Funds generated from this to be used by the Railways for projects in Karnataka. Unused FSI up to 5 to be allowed to be sold as TDR. For unused FSI more than 5, to be shared equally between Railways and the State government for funding the project,” said the order.
The State government has also agreed to bear the cost of acquiring private land required for the project with a rider that acquisition of properties should be minimized as far as possible. It has also decided to restore the ₹1,745 crore project to upgrade the existing rail network in the city limits, which includes doubling, electrification of lines, signalling and others. The order also states that location of all depots and casting yard will be mutually decided by the the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).