Metro Rlys to give priority in areas where land is available :

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today told the Metro Railway authorities here to give priority to those projects where land is available without encroachments, a Metro Railway spokesperson said.

"He(Goyal) directed that Metro Railway should regularly coordinate with the state government regarding issues related to land encroachments," the spokesperson Indrani Banerjee said.

The minister also suggested that emphasis should be given to enhance earnings through non-fare revenue by adopting new ideas and concept, she said.

Goyal reviewed the performance of the Kolkata Metro Railway, the country's oldest Metro railway, during the day and suggested that priority should be given to those projects where land is available without encroachment.

He was apprised of the progress made in executing various projects till date by its general manager A Vijayvargiya, she said.

Goyal told a press conference that the budget allocation for the Metro Railways has been increased.

Referring to encroachments, he said in the Metro Railways' Airport to New Barrackpore section 23000 sq m land is required but there 86 houses which have encroached on it.

"We keep writing to chief secretary about this project. The problem is yet to be solved," he said.

Asked about the timeframe for the Nowapara-Barasat project of the Metro Railways, he said "If the state cannot handover land how the project can proceed ?"