The Hindu : New Delhi News : Minister allays fears over Kochi Metro

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Minister allays fears over Kochi Metro

Special Correspondent

Says project will be cleared soon

A delegation of Congress MPs meet Jaipal Reddy
Project planned as State-Centre joint venture

NEW DELHI: Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy on Friday sought to allay fears of the Kochi Metro project being scuttled by the Centre.

He told a delegation of MPs from Kerala that the Union Cabinet would clear the project in a couple of months after the State government provided details on how it would cough up its share of the project that was being planned as a joint venture of Kerala and the Centre.

Delegation

The delegation of Congress MPs met Mr. Reddy after the Union Cabinet deferred a decision on the Kochi Metro on Thursday.

On the agenda of the Cabinet, no decision could be taken as it was felt that more inputs were needed on the parameters of the proposed project.

The Ministry, it is understood, had suggested that the Kochi Metro be built along the lines of the Delhi Metro as a joint venture of the Centre and Kerala government. However, the Finance Ministry has reservations of such a model on the premise that the State government had not yet been able to provide details on how it would fund the project estimated to cost Rs.3,000 crore.

Public-private route

Also, the Finance Ministry apparently prefers the Public-Private-Partnership route for the project.

Given that other metro projects are also seeking Cabinet clearance, questions were raised about why the Kochi Metro was being prioritised when there was no clarity on several counts.

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