RailEnquiry

LUCKNOW: The much-awaited report of the department of urban planning on the proposed Metro project in the city has made radical changes in the original plan. While it has totally done away with the 'two corridor' concept and instead recommended a dense network of Metro connectivity in the city, the entire route has been proposed to be built overhead to save cost. Government sources told TOI that the revised route can reach even to the interiors of the city.Interestingly, the report has proposed the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) as a feeder to the Metro rail as and when it is built. These would have dedicated corridors for plying of buses on an elevated platform. An official told TOI, "A BRTS can only function on a road which is more than 30 metres wide like we have in Ahmadabad. Unfortunately in Lucknow, most of the roads are narrower hence we have proposed elevated corridors for BRTS implementation."

Cost of building an elevated platform for BRTS would require around Rs 50 crore per kiloemtre. Justifying their proposal, the officials said: "Building a BRTS all over the city on an elevated track would be very expensive thus defeating the purpose, hence we have suggested it as feeder to the metro."

As far as the financial model for the metro project is concerned, the report does not recommend any one specific way. There could be two ways for financing the project - one is through 'viability gap funding' which involves 20%cost bearing by the Central government and another 80% percent by the state itself. Another alternative is PPP (public private partnership) model, which is being successfully operated in Hyderabad (tie-up with Larsen and Toubro) and Mumbai (with Reliance).

The report enlists pros and cons of both these models and suggests that Lucknow can operate one any one of these. However, sources confirmed that two Central agencies -- Planning Commission and Union urban development ministry - were not unanimous on selecting the financial model for Lucknow. While Planning Commission is proposing PPP model, the ministry is rooting for viability gap funding for Lucknow Metro.

Now that the state urban planning department report has made a lot of changes to the original plan, the government is likely to take some time to have a relook at the project. Officials said that the revised route would now require the DPR (detailed project report) on metro to be prepared afresh, which means starting from the scratch again. Interestingly, LDA sources have been rooting for PPP model. An official said, "In cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad, big companies have been sharing cost burden with the government. Normally, the project is given on BOT (build, operate and transfer) mode for 35 years. There are added benefits for companies involved in such projects where they are allowed to make profit out of the surrounding real estate projects.

A day before, LDA had hinted that all major activity centers which have good potential for passengers like schools, colleges, educational institutes, hospitals, multispecialty healthcare units, bus stations, railways stations, important offices would be covered with the proposed Metro network. On Tuesday, when the state budget was announced, the special committee appointed to review Metro project submitted final report to the CM. Officials claim that their report is much more extensive and relevant than the previous report as they have studied even the minutest of technicalities and its adaptability to the city.

The overall cost is bound to go up as the metro coverage has expanded, confirmed sources. However, now the entire track would be made overhead to reduce per km cost. Cost of constructing one km of overhead track is just Rs 180 crore while for underground it reaches up to Rs 550 crore. It consumes much more energy and is safety is also an issue.