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Cabinet approves Chennai Metro Phase-II, Stalin thanks Modi

The Cabinet’s decision comes less than a week after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 27 to ask for the Union government’s share of the project cost to be released.

Chennai Metro, Chennai Metro project, Chennai, Chennai Metro Phase-II, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Indian express news, current affairs

Announcing the decision, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the project would cost Rs.63,246 crore and would be completed by 2027.

The Union Cabinet Thursday cleared the long-pending Chennai Metro Phase-II, which will comprise three corridors over 118.9 km of new lines and 128 stations. The Cabinet’s decision comes less than a week after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 27 seeking the Union government’s share for the project. Home Minister Amit Shah had laid the foundation stone for the project in 2020, however, the Union Cabinet’s nod was pending till now.

Reacting to the approval, Stalin said in a post on X: “Thank you, Hon’ble PM @narendramodi, for accepting our request during my last meeting with you and approving the second phase of the Chennai Metro Rail Project. This long pending demand of the people of Tamil Nadu having been addressed now, we are confident of completing the project at the earliest !”

Last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during a press conference in Tamil Nadu that the state government had decided to implement phase-II as a state project and only 10% of the cost was from the Centre. In a reply in the Lok Sabha on August 8, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu said the expenditure towards the implementation of phase-II was borne by the Tamil Nadu government presently.

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Announcing the decision, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the project would cost Rs 63,246 crore and would be completed by 2027. Once the phase-II is completed, Chennai’s Metro network would increase to 173 km, the Union government said in a statement.

The Minister and the government, in its statement, did not mention exactly how much of the total project cost would be borne by the Union and state governments and through loans. However, two government sources said the Central share of the project cost would be Rs 7,425 crore, in addition to the costs for land acquisition and rehabilitation.

The project comprises three corridors – from Madhavaram to SIPCOT (45.8km), from Lighthouse to Poonamalle Bypass (26.1km) and from Madhavaram to Sholinganallur (47 km).

“The corridors of Phase-II connect North to South and East to the West of Chennai passing through the major influence areas…It will extend connectivity to rapidly growing areas like Sholinganallur, which serves as a hub for the south Chennai IT corridor,” the government said.

Damini Nath

Damini Nath is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. She covers the housing and urban affairs and Election Commission beats. She has 11 years of experience as a reporter and sub-editor. Before joining The Indian Express in 2022, she was a reporter with The Hindu’s national bureau covering culture, social justice, housing and urban affairs and the Election Commission. ... Read More

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