Niti Aayog clears ₹29,000-cr twin metro projects

The government think tank Niti Aayog has assured the UP government to expedite funding for construction of metro rail projects in Agra and Kanpur, said vice-chairman, Niti Aayog, Rajiv Kumar. He informed that the decision on this score was taken at a high-level meeting led by state cabinet minister Siddharthnath Singh, principal secretary (Micro, Small and Medium scale industry) Navneet Sehgal, and MD- Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation, Kumar Keshav. Niti Aayog directed the state authorities to expedite the clearance process including exploring funding sources for the ambitious project, and has assured the state that it will be forwarding its recommendation to the Department of Economic Affairs. The European Union Investment Bank is keen to fund both the Kanpur and Agra metro rail projects involving ₹16,975 crore and ₹12,900 crore, respectively. For the Kanpur project ₹1,009 crore would be provided by the state government and ₹200 crore will have to be arranged by the local bodies. Earlier this month, the state government had transferred ₹100 crore each to both the cities from the initial budgetary provision of ₹175 crore, said official sources.