Cabinet approves two metro rail projects in M.P.

The Union Cabinet recently gave its nod for two metro rail projects in Madhya Pradesh - one each in Bhopal and Indore. Both the projects will be completed in four years, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Law Minister, said.

“Both the projects, will have equity participation from Centre and States, and also have a public private partnership component. The Bhopal project will cost Rs. 6,941.4 crore, while the Indore project will cost Rs. 7,500.8 crore,” Prasad said.

The Cabinet has approved a proposal to make Indian Railway Station Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) the nodal agency to ensure coordinated development of railway stations.

The IRSDC will decide whether stations should be bunched for development, and if so how they can be bunched. Also, IRSDC can extend lease period upto 99 years, and will decide the lease period for each project, Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The Cabinet has also approved, in partial modification of the earlier decision taken on May 16, the establishment of National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation(NIMHR) in Sehore District (Bhopal-Sehore highway) instead of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

“A large land piece has been allotted by the state government in Sehore. The project was shifted because of land crunch in Bhopal,” Prasad said.

The Cabinet has also approved the provision of a financial package of Rs. 469.41 crore for the Revival and Mill Development Plan (RMDP) of Nepa Ltd, a public sector newsprint company located in Nepanagar, Madhya Pradesh.

The Cabinet also gave e approval to the second protocol amending the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between India and Singapore.

HBL