Budget 2019: Delhi Metro gets a boost! Rs. 400 crore allocated for project expansion.

As part of the Union Budget 2019 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 5, the Modi 2.0 government has allocated a sum of Rs. 414.70 crore for the expansion of its network across the national capital region (NCR). The Delhi Metro network is operational in the national capital and seamlessly connects the far flung areas of NCR. Last year, the allocation for Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was Rs. 50 crore as no projects were planned for the fiscal year.

Presently, the Delhi Metro network spans across a distance of 373 km and has as many as 271 stations. With the current allocation, the metro project is set to receive a big boost as the Delhi Metro Phase IV proposal had been stuck between the state government and the Central government for the past few months.

In addition to this, the budget also allocated a sum of Rs. 19,152 crore for the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) and as well as metro projects, which can be utilized for the Delhi Metro Phase IV when it receives the final clearance. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, in total, allocated a sum of Rs. 17,713.93 crore for executing various metro projects across the country. The grant of Rs. 414.70 crores for DMRC in the budget has been given for expanding the metro network in the areas of Ghaziabad and Noida.

Meanwhile, the last section of Delhi Metro was made operational was on March 8, namely the Noida City Centre-Noida Electronic City section, being an extension of the Delhi Metro Blue Line. Delhi Metro also recently became the very first metro project in the country to generate and receive power from a waste-to-energy plant. With this, DMRC receives 2 MW power from a 12 MW capacity Waste to Energy (WtE) plant of the East Delhi Waste Processing Company Limited (EDWPCL) which is situated in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh.

THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS