Work to start as soon as DMRC gets Centre nod

NEW DELHI: The much-delayed Phase IV expansion of Delhi Metro finally got the green signal from the Delhi government on Wednesday after an almost two-year wait. The 104-km phase IV, with six corridors, will connect far flung areas of the capital with the city centre.“It is a big decision for Delhiites,” deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said, adding that the phase IV project will take Delhi Metro’s total network to 454 km. The phase is likely to be completed by 2024. The six corridors are Rithala-Bawana-Narela, Janakpuri West-R K Ashram, Mukundpur-Maujpur, Inderlok-Indraprastha, Aero City-Tughlakabad and Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block.The Delhi cabinet on Wednesday gave its final nod, along with financial commitment, to all six corridors of phase IV. The Delhi government had given in-principle approval in January 2017. The Delhi government and the Centre have a 50:50 stake in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).The total project cost of Phase IV is Rs 46,845 crore, out of which Delhi government’s contribution works out to Rs 9,707.5 crore. In the 2018-19 fiscal, Delhi government will provide a funding of Rs 1,100 crore.When the six new corridors come up in the next five years, not only would it bring Metro connectivity to many far flung areas of the capital but also drastically reduce journey time in the capital. The Phase IV corridors will have 79 stations and nearly 20 interchange points, giving more options to commuters to change trains and reduce travel time instead of taking long detours. DMRC expects to start work on all the six corridors simultaneously as soon as it gets the central government’s nod.Delhi government’s finance department had earlier raised concerns on the financial viability of at least three of the six proposed corridors. The Delhi government had said it will approve the viable corridors and take a call on the ‘unviable’ ones later, but the entire project got delayed. Finally, the government decided to approve all corridors at one go.Sisodia said the cabinet had also approved the induction of 334 new coaches for Delhi Metro. “Each train will get two to three coaches and the busy corridors of the old phases will benefit from this,” he said. The government said DMRC would take a decision on which corridors will receive how many new coaches, based on requirement and technical feasibility. The estimated cost of construction of Phase IV has changed twice – from Rs 55,208 crore (estimated in the first detailed project report submitted to the Centre and Delhi in 2016) to Rs 45,603 crore and then revised again to around Rs 46,845 crore. The cost in 2014 was estimated on the earlier tax regime. It was reduced by Rs 10,000 taking taxes as per GST into account.“The cost has marginally gone up as the Delhi Metro had earlier failed to factor in the cost of the procurement of coaches and laying down tracks on certain stretches,” a Delhi government official said, requesting anonymity. On October 21, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had told TOI that the long pending phase IV project, including all its six corridors, will be approved by the Delhi government within 10 days. However, the Delhi government later asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to take the project back to its board to seek reapproval before it is placed before the cabinet. The Phase IV project was recently re-approved by the DMRC’s board of directors.