Lucknow Metro Project:Yet to get nod from central board,state open its own coffers for first stretch

With the Lucknow Metro Rail project yet to get clearance from Union Ministry of Finance’s Public Investment Board (PIB), the state government has decided to complete the first stretch of the work with its own resources in order to meet the deadline of December next year - UP will go to polls in 2017.

Officials said the government will spend around Rs. 2,000 crore from the state exchequer to complete the 8.3-km priority section stretch from Transport Nagar to Charbagh. This Rs. 2,000 crore will be a part of the state’s share of the total project cost - worth Rs. 6,880 crore - for the entire North-South corridor from Amausi to Munshipulia.

The decision is likely to mount pressure on the Centre to ensure that PIB clearance is issued at the earliest to ensure that UP cannot blame the Union government for any delay in the implementation of the project.

The Metro project is being projected as the lifeline Lucknow — Lok Sabha constituency of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. While the Centre has to bear 20 per cent of the total project cost, UP will pay around 27 per cent while the rest of the funding will come in the form of loans from various agencies.

However, neither the Centre can release its share, nor the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) - the project’s executing agency - could seek loan until it has been approved by PIB

THE INDIAN EXPRESS