Central govt working on Delhi Metro phase IV project, rapid rail system: Hardeep Singh Puri

New Delhi: The government has decided to go forward with the Delhi Metro’s phase IV project and rapid rail system connecting the national capital with Meerut, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday. The Delhi government, however, is yet to give its approval for the project. The housing and urban affairs minister had recently said that the AAP-led city government was sitting on the project, which is pending for the last three years. [caption id=“attachment_4293589” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Hardeep Singh Puri. Getty images[/caption] “We are finding a solution. The solution is where we are not getting support from the Delhi government over the metro projects, we have decided that we will do it ourselves. Rail corridors, we will do on our own,” “If they (Delhi government) are not willing to approve a project or provide funding, we are finding out the solution for it,” he told reporters in New Delhi. Last year, Puri had reportedly said that the delay had pushed the cost of Metro Phase IV by Rs 12,000 crore, adding that the cost of Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail Transit project had also gone up by Rs 1,000 crore. Meanwhile, an official at the chief minister’s office said that the Delhi government had given in-principle approval to the phase IV metro project, but the files were pending with bureaucrats at the Delhi finance department. Puri said the Delhi Metro authorities have approved a subsidiary company which will provide last-mile connectivity from metro stations. Highlighting his ministry’s achievement in the last six years, the Union minister said the contentious issues related to the Rohini residential scheme, launched in 1981 by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), has been resolved and the process for allotting the pending plots will be completed by the month-end. Talking about the sealing drive in the city, he said amendments in the Master Plan 2021 will be notified soon after filing an affidavit regarding it in the Supreme Court. The former IFS officer said in the last six months, 13 states/UTs have become open defecation free, thus bringing the total open defecation free (ODF) states count to 14. He added that 1,310 cities have been declared ODF during the same period, taking the total tally of ODF cities to 2,322.