Rajasthan: CM for Metro till Chomu, finance yet to clear Line-1 DPR

JAIPUR: Even as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has plans for the extension of Jaipur Metro up to Chomu, the state finance department is yet to approve the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the last two phases of Line 1 of the Metro project.

Metro up to Chomu is feasible only if the proposed Line 2 of the Jaipur Metro project can be extended from Ambabari. For that, Line 1 needs to be fully operational.
“Once Line 1 is fully operational from Ajmer Road (200-feet bypass) to Transport Nagar, we can start the construction work for Line 2, connecting Ambabari to Sitapura Industrial Area. If the government really wants to extend Jaipur Metro to Chomu, it has to be done on Line 2 from Ambabari,” said a Metro official.
The DPR of these two lines were sent to the state finance secretary in mid-July.
Presently, Jaipur Metro runs from Mansarovar to Badi Choupar. While Line 1C would connect Badi Choupar to Transport Nagar for another 2. 85 km, Line 1D would connect Mansarovar and Ajmer Road for another 1. 3 km. In all, Line 1 of Jaipur Metro would be 15. 65 km from the present stretch of 11. 4 km.
“Although this length of the extension might be nominal, Line1C is viable for Jaipur Metro as it would get extended towards the city side. When the official first phase of 9. 1 km of Jaipur Metro got constructed, we used to have no more than 18,000 passengers a day. But when Metro got extended towards the city side just for another 2. 4 km (from Chandpole to Badi Choupar), the daily average passenger count rose to 35,000. After Line 1C gets operational, we expect a daily passenger count of at least 50,000 to 60,000,” explained a senior Metro official.
Officials are apprehensive that until and unless the work starts before the Assembly election due next year, chances are lean that Line 1 would be fully operational. Jaipur Metro Railway Corporation was incorporated on January 1, 2010. The first 9. 1 km of Jaipur Metro was inaugurated on June 2, 2015. Line 1 got further extended till Badi Choupar on September 23, 2020.
“While it took less than four years to construct the 9. 5 km stretch, it took more than five years to extend it for another 2. 4 km. This was the time when BJP was in power in Rajasthan. So the fate of metro projects in Jaipur depend on election results,” signed off the official.
The CM, in a government function three days ago, told of his plans to extend Jaipur Metro till Chomu. Earlier, on February 23, 2020, during a programme to mark the golden jubilee celebration of Rajasthan Housing Board, Gehlot had announced that the government would start work for Line 2. —Metro