Agra Metro Rail gets ₹138-cr funding infusion

With the infusion of ₹75 crore by the UP government, the state has allocated ₹138 crores as share capital for the year 2020-21 in the Agra Metro project, which was flagged off by the PM. Of ₹75 crore, ₹50 crore would be wheeled in by the state government as share capital, while the remaining ₹25 crore would be pooled in for the land acquisition from the subordinate loan head. According to a detailed order issued by the housing and planning department, the allocation would be made available to the UP-Metro Rail Corporation, nodal agency executing the project. As per the guidelines laid down by the state government, the UPMRC will take a technical sanction before starting the project. The housing department said that UPMRC will ensure the quality of construction besides completing the project within a scheduled timeline. The corporation would be pooling in funds in a staggered manner as per the requirement and the fund will not be kept in any bank deposit. The funds would be spent as per guidelines laid down by the state government and UPMRC will ensure that no budgetary sanction has been made in the past and none of the works have been incorporated in any other work plan. The corporation will have to adhere to the standard of financial propriety, wherein the number of allowances granted to meet the expenditure of a particular type should be so regulated that the allowances are not, on the whole, a source of profit to the recipient. UPMRC will be required to take legal as well as environmental clearances before starting the project.