Enhanced allocation for metro projects in budget

The Centre has set aside over Rs 17,810 crore for metro projects across the country in the Union Budget for 2017-18, which is a jump of nearly 14 per cent over last year's allocation.

Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said a new metro rail policy will have innovative methods of financing.

However, unlike last year, the budget document did not provide break-up for the individual projects like those being executed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

The only separate mention was about Rs 150 crore being granted to Delhi Metro for its expansion into NCR areas such as Noida, Ghaziabad, Bahadurgarh, which is nearly double as compared to last year's Rs 87.4 crore.

This year, the pass through assistance i.e. loan amount provided by external agencies like JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) has been pegged at Rs 13,644 crore, as against last year's Rs 12,470.75 crore.

While the Rs 42,000 crore Phase III project of DMRC is nearing completion and is likely to see a staggered launch this year, its Phase IV has recently been cleared by the Delhi government and it awaits the clearance of the Centre.

The mega project, as part of which 72 new stations will be built, will cost over Rs 50,000 crore, which is to be borne equally by the state and the Centre.