SC nod for Agra Metro awaited, work on Kanpur leg starts today: Adityanath

UP CM said state had sought apex court's permission for Agra due to existence of Taj Trapezium Zone, an area of 10,400 sq km around Taj Mahal, to protect the world famous monument from pollution

The Uttar Pradesh government is awaiting the Supreme Court nod for launching the Agra Metro rail project, chief minister Yogi Adityanath today said.

Addressing the Urban Mobility India conference-cum-exhibition 2019 here, Adityanath said the state government had filed an application in the apex court seeking permission for the project owing to the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ).

TTZ is a defined area of about 10,400 sq km around Taj Mahal to protect the world famous monument from pollution. In response to a PIL seeking to protect the famous monument from environmental hazard, the apex court had banned industrial activities and the use of coal/coke in units located in the TTZ.

“As soon as we (UP government) get the Supreme Court permission, the work on the Agra Metro project would be launched,” the CM said after inaugurating the three-day expo in the presence of union minister of state (independent charge) for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri.

Adityanath further informed that the civil work on the Kanpur Metro would also start from today even as the government had planned to launch metro and ‘metrolite’ projects in other major cities, including Meerut, Prayagraj (Allahabad), Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Jhansi.

“We have prepared an action plan for launching the metro rail services in these cities. In fact, the DPR (detailed project report) of some of these projects is ready and we want to speed them up,” he underlined.

The CM mentioned the state government had earlier implemented an electric vehicle policy for providing greener public transport solutions in wake of rapid urbanisation and rising vehicular pollution. Nearly 30 per cent of the UP population lived in the urban centres.

“Over the past one month, the national capital region (NCR) has been facing smog conditions due to pollution following which schools and colleges are shut and people are facing health complications. This compels us to devise a sustainable model of development and espousing a new vision of public health,” he added.

In another function in Kanpur, Adityanath and Puri inaugurated the start of civil works on Kanpur Metro, which is expected to cost more than Rs 11,000 crore, a massive cutback on the initial estimated investment of around Rs 18,000 crore last year.

In his address, the CM said the Kanpur Metro project together with the airport project would not only improve the public perception about the industrial town, but also spur the revival of sick industrial units.

He opined that metro rail projects provided a futuristic public transport solution for the next 100 years.

Adityanath also recalled two other mega projects viz Bundelkhand Expressway and Defence Manufacturing Corridor, which he claimed would further boost the economic and industrial development in the Kanpur region.

Recalling the historic Ayodhya verdict, he said the state government had already started working the land acquisition for the Ayodhya airport and released Rs 200 crore towards the same and work was on war-footing on the project.

“Currently, seven cities are already connected with air services, while the work on 11 other cities is underway,” he added.