Two new corridors have been identified for expansion of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) that will link the national Capital with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Following a meeting of the representatives of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh with Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday, it was announced that the RRTS will be expanded to the Delhi-Bahadurgarh-Rohtak-Hissar corridor and the Delhi-Shahadra-Baraut corridor.
Announcing this, Mr. Nath said these corridors will be taken up on priority basis and feasibility studies will be conducted soon. The feasibility report on the Delhi-Alwar, Delhi-Panipat and Delhi-Meerut corridors has already been completed and work on the detailed project reports will begin soon, the Minister said.
These three corridors of phase-I will cost approximately Rs.72,000 crore and all the States concerned have agreed to pull out all stops for RRTS construction, he said. A representative from Uttar Pradesh said the Government is committed to have a RRTS in place and will not let monetary considerations come in the way of development.
“The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister is clear that the State will do whatever is needed to create new economic opportunities. We will ensure the feasibility of the Delhi-Bahadurgarh-Baraut corridor is carried out fast. The Government will not allow money to hinder the economic development. We need to weed out corruption and instead spend money on public works,” Abhishek Misra, Minister of State for Protocol, UP, said.
The RRTS is an ambitious project that aims to create counter-magnet areas around the National Capital that will decongest the city and allow people to commute between NCR easily.
“The RRTS will allow people to commute to Delhi for work, while living elsewhere. The projects are being fast tracked,” said an official of the Urban Development Ministry.
Thursday’s announcement that all the stakeholders have agreed to raise funds and work on priority have also laid to rest the speculation that the RRTS will have difficulty taking off, on account of no consensus on land acquirement and fund-raising among the three States of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. There have been concerns that the States may not be able to raise the money required to fund the massive project.
