Cabinet approves Rs 12,015 crore new metro corridors to curb Delhi air pollution

The Union Cabinet approved three new metro corridors worth Rs 12,014.91 crore to ease traffic congestion in the national capital and curb air pollution. An official statement said funds for the Delhi Metro’s Phase – V(A) project will be sourced from centre, the Delhi state government, and international funding agencies.

Announcing the development, union railways, information technology, and information broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the newly approved Central Vista corridor will provide connectivity to all the Kartavya Bhawans thereby providing door step connectivity to the office goers and visitors in this area.

The centre and Delhi government are expected to contribute Rs 1759 crore each for these new lines. While the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will secure a Rs 5,278 crore loan from multilateral agencies.

DMRC currently operates 12 metro lines of about 395 km with 289 stations in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR).

“With this connectivity around 60,000 office goers and 2 lakh visitors will get benefitted on daily basis. These corridors will further reduce pollution and usage of fossil fuels enhancing ease of living,” Vaishnaw said adding these three extensions will comprise of 13 stations spanning 16 kilometres will take the total length of Delhi metro network to over 400 kilometres.

The RK Ashram Marg – Indraprastha section will be an extension of the Botanical Garden-R.K. Ashram Marg corridor. It will provide Metro connectivity to the Central Vista area, which is currently under redevelopment.

The Aerocity – IGD Airport Terminal 1 and Tughlakabad – Kalindi Kunj sections will be an extension of the Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor and will boost connectivity of the airport with the southern parts of the national capital in areas such as Tughlakabad, Saket, and Kalindi Kunj among others.