Previous BJP govt delayed metro projects in Bhopal, Indore: CM

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Saturday accused the erstwhile BJP government of delaying the implementation of the metro rail projects in Bhopal and Indore.

Nath was addressing a function after performing "bhoomipujan" (ground-breaking) ceremony for the first phase of the Rs 7,500.80 crore metro rail project in Indore, the commercial capital of the state.

"When I was union minister of urban development, I called the then urban administration and development minister of Madhya Pradesh Babulal Gaur (now deceased) after attending a programme of Metro Rail Project in Jaipur. I told him to prepare detailed project reports (DPRs) for the Indore and Bhopal metro rail projects," he said.

Nath said he had approved expenditure from Central funds for preparing the DPR, but it was shelved after being drafted.

"After taking oath as chief minister in December last year, I asked state urban development minister Jaivardhan Singh to talk with officials and set a deadline for the implementation if the metro rail projects," he said.

The chief minister also said his government will consider connecting the religious city Ujjain, industrial town Pithampur and other nearby places in the second phase of the metro rail project.

Under the metro rail project in Indore, a 31.55-km- long corridor is proposed to be built in the city.

While most of the metro section will be elevated, a portion will run underground, officials said, adding that the metro rail corridor will pass through Nainod, Bhanwarsala intersection, Radisson intersection and Bengali Chauraha.

A total of 29 stations would be built on this route.

The project, conceived during the tenure of erstwhile BJP government in the state and approved by the Centre in October last year, is expected to be completed by August 2023.