Former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik slams govt for scrapping metro project

Former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has lashed out at the BJP-led state government for scrapping the Bhubaneswar Metro Rail project. Patnaik, in a strongly worded post on X, called it a betrayal of the city's future.

"The Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Project would have reshaped how the city moves. Now, the double-engine government has pushed it 10 years back," Patnaik wrote. The first phase of the Rs 6,255 crore project, from the airport to Trisulia, was greenlit during Patnaik's tenure and scheduled to complete by December 2027. But the project was shelved recently, with DMRC issuing termination notices to contractors. The BJP government defended the move, saying the earlier route wasn't viable and that a more expansive Puri-Bhubaneswar-Cuttack corridor is being planned. "We are preparing a new DPR and forming a committee to study similar metros. The revised plan will connect all major cities," said Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mohapatra.