'Will seek centre's speedy clearance for Metro project'

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 12 ( IANS) The Kerala government will seek the central government's support for speedy clearance of the proposed Light Metro project in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting, Chandy said that he along with minister in charge of the Light Metro, V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, is leaving to Delhi to meet Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu to ensure that speedy clearance for the project is granted.

"We will be going to Delhi just for this and at the same time, now that the project has been cleared by the cabinet, we are going ahead with land acquisition," Chandy said.

The project is expected to ease traffic congestion in the busy capital city and in Kozhikode.

'Metro Man' E. Sreedharan would be overseeing the project and 40 percent of the project cost is expected to be shared equally by the state and central government and the rest through loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with very low rates of interest.

Speaking to IANS, Kunju said they will visit Delhi this week.

"We do not want to have any more delays as the Kochi Metro (which is in the final stages of construction) got cleared by the central government after a very very long period. We are hopeful that this project will begin at the earliest," said Kunju.