Delhi Government Refused To Fund Rapid Rail Corridors: Union Minister

The Delhi government has not agreed to provide financial support for the Delhi-SNB and Delhi-Panipat Regional Rapid Transit System corridors, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Rajya Sabha on Monday.

In a written reply to a question, Mr Puri said that in absence of the nod, both corridors have not been approved by the central government and "the question of delay in completion of the corridors does not arise." The question asked by Rajya Sabha member Kartikeya Sharma was regarding the current status of the Alwar-Delhi-Panipat Rapid Rail Project and whether there is a delay in the completion of the project.

"The Detailed Project Report (DPR) with approval and financial commitment of Government of Haryana for Delhi-Panipat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor and approval with financial commitment of Government of Haryana and Government of Rajasthan for Delhi-SNB (Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror) RRTS corridor which is part of Delhi-Alwar RRTS corridor, have been received," Mr Puri said in the written reply.

However, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), has not agreed to provide financial support for Delhi-SNB and Delhi-Panipat RRTS corridors, the minister added.

According to him, the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) has identified two other RRTS corridors -- Delhi-Faridabad-Ballabgarh-Palwal and Delhi-Bahadurgarh-Rohtak.

Mr Puri also said that he has been informed by the Ministry of Railways that surveys have been sanctioned for the Delhi-Agra elevated high speed RRTS and Delhi-Rewari-Jaipur (speed up to 220 kmph) RRTS.

According to the NCRTC, which has been implementing the RRTS projects, the Delhi-Panipat RRTS corridor aims to connect Delhi to towns such as Murthal, Gannaur, Samalkha, and Panipat in Haryana.

The total length of the corridor is to be 103 km with 17 stations, including Murthal depot station. The corridor will begin from Sarai Kale Khan and end at Panipat Depot.

About the Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar RRTS Corridor, an official in the NCRTC said that the corridor will pass through the industrialised areas of Haryana and Rajasthan.

It is expected to increase the productivity of a large number of commuters travelling to and from Delhi and Gurugram to regions in Manesar, Bawal, and Neemrana.

The construction of the corridor is scheduled to be done majorly along the edge of the national highway, which will be carried out in three phases.

Under the first stage, a 107-km stretch from will be constructed from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to SNB Urban Complex (Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror), just ahead of Bawal (Haryana), enroute touching various regional nodes such as Gurugram, Manesar, Panchgaon, Rewari.

The line would be extended from SNB to Sotanala (33.3km), with Shahjahanpur, Neemrana, and Behror in between, under the second phase. SNB to Alwar (58 km) extension is proposed under the third phase.

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