The under-construction Metro track from Dilshad Garden to Ghaziabad. (Praveen Khanna) The under-construction Metro track from Dilshad Garden to Ghaziabad. (Praveen Khanna)

In a move that may push Delhi Metro’s delayed Phase IV project forward, the Delhi government’s finance department has “cleared” three of the six proposed corridors — Janakpuri West-R K Ashram (28.92 km), Mukundpur-Maujpur (12.54 km) and Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block (7.96 km).

These lines will touch areas, including Burari, Yamuna Vihar, Paschim Vihar, Rohini east, Mukarba Chowk and Andrews Ganj, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said. Phase IV has already witnessed a two-year delay.

“The finance department has given the go-ahead. An interim report has been submitted; it will now come to the Cabinet for clearance,” Gahlot told The Indian Express. A committee is looking into the financial aspect of the other three corridors, deemed “financially unviable” by the government, he said.

The Cabinet is also likely to clear a long-pending proposal on procurement of over 900 train coaches, Gahlot said.

As the prolonged back-and-forth threatened to derail the nearly Rs 50,000-crore project, the DMRC had written to the government in January, seeking approval for three lines under the project, categorising them as “priority” corridors.

Of these, two have been approved by the finance department. The Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block line has also been cleared, despite the Metro not pressing for it, Gahlot said.

The other three — Rithala-Narela (21.73km), Tughlakabad-Terminal 1 (22 km) and Inderlok-Indraprastha (12.58km) — have been identified as “unviable” by the government, as operationalising them may result in “negative cash flow”, Gahlot said.

“Negative cash flow basically means that revenue generation is likely to be in the negative as passenger load won’t be sufficient. Metro will run empty. So, the committee is further looking into the financial aspect of those lines,” he said, adding that the Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block line may see negative cash flow as well, but “not so much”.

Gahlot said the “unviability” assumes importance as the burden of the entire “operating losses” suffered by the DMRC in running phase II and III corridors have been put on the Delhi government.

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