MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): The Maharashtra government has authorised Rs 250 crore for the Metro Line 3 project. The amount will be paid to Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) which is executing the project. This is the second part of the Rs 500 crore allocated for the project in this financial year. In January this year, the government had already paid Rs 250 crore.
This project is being financed in a 50:50 ratio by the Centre and state. According to the pact, 50% of taxes had to be paid to the Centre while the cost of land acquisition, relief rehabilitation amounting to Rs 1,615 crore with a waiver of Rs 806 crore state taxes had to be paid to MMRCL by the state government. The total amount is, therefore, Rs 2,421 crore. Up until January this year, the government had paid nearly Rs 1,926 crore.
The underground Metro Line 3 project had to be commissioned in 2019 but the construction of tunnels and stations has been delayed. Last year the government extended the lease of over 3 lakh sq feet of Azad Maidan land by another three years because MMRCL claimed that the work was delayed. The site for the metro car shed is also stuck in a political conflict between the Shiv Sena-led MVA government and BJP at the Centre. While Sena has been keen to shift this line to Kanjurmarg, the state BJP has been determined on Aarey Colony.
In the recent state budget, deputy CM, Ajit Pawar announced that the line will be extended to Navy Nagar for which the metro route will be increased to nearly 35 kms.
