Delhi Metro gets Rs. 3,120 crore in budget

New Delhi: The Delhi Metro was on Thursday allocated Rs.3,120 crore in the union budget which will be spent on construction of Phase-III to lay another 103 km of tracks. Of the funds allotted to the urban development ministry, Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced one of the largest chunks to Delhi Metro.  He said the central government would infuse Rs. 1,750 crore as pass through assistance (PTA) for the construction of the ongoing Phase III project of the Delhi Metro and Rs. 650 crore as its equity. Besides, the union government would offer Rs. 600 crore as subordinate debt for Phase-III, which would be spent for land acquisition and payment of central taxes. Chidambaram also announced a Rs. 120-crore grant for the Delhi Metro National Capital Region (NCR) expansion in Faridabad and Bahadurgarh in Haryana. “The allocation is satisfactory and seemed to be adequate for Phase III expansion this year. If we need further financial assistance, we will place demands under revised expenditure,” said a Metro spokesperson. Delhi Metro has begun construction of Phase-III, covering an additional 103 km. The new phase is likely to be completed by 2016. IANS