Cabinet approves Noida – Greater Noida Metro Rail Project

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Noida – Greater Noida Metro Rail Project covering a length of 29.707 k.m. Total completion cost of the project is Rs.5,503 crore. Metro rail connection between NOIDA and Greater NOIDA will result into people being assured about their mobility and thus more people will like to move to these satellite towns of Delhi, thus decongesting Delhi. As a result, more residential and commercial complexes will develop in this region. With metro rail in place, there will be less vehicular traffic on roads leading to less congestion, less time and cost of journey, less consumption of fossil fuel and less environmental pollution. People of Noida-Greater Noida, which has a population of approx. 7.50 Lakhs and people of surrounding areas will be benefitted with this metro link. Project will be implemented by Noida Metro Rail Corporation Limited, which will be a 50:50 jointly owned company of Govt. of India and Govt. of Uttar Pradesh. The existing Noida Metro Rail Corporation Limited (NMRCL) which is a State owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be converted into a joint SPV of Government of India (Gol) and Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP), for implementation of the project. The project would generate significant direct and indirect employment of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workforce. Substantial indirect employment will also be generated during construction and operation phases. The project is scheduled to be completed by April, 2018 as per the Detailed Project Report (DPR). About 70% progress of civil work and 40% of overall financial progress of the project have been achieved. Project will be covered under the legal framework of Central Metro Acts, Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978 and the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002, as amended from time to time. Background: The Noida city, located in Gautam Buddha Nagar District of Uttar Pradesh State, was created under the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Area Development Act. It possesses all modern amenities and is considered to be one of the most modern suburbs of Delhi in the National Capital Region (NCR). The population of Noida and Greater Noida as per 2011 Census of India is about 7,50,000 and is projected to grow to 19,00,000 by the year 2021. People from Delhi and surrounding area are preferring NOIDA for settlement. Noida has a potential of about 10,000 industrial units and presently about 7,500 are developed and functional. Noida provides employment to over 2,00,000 in the region with these industrial units. Noida mainly has road linkages with Delhi and the adjoining areas of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana State. Noida does not have a railway station and the nearest railway station is Hazarat Nizamuddin, which is at a distance of about 15 km. The nearest airport Delhi is at about 30 km from Noida. Greater Noida, also envisaged as a satellite town to control the migration to Delhi, is planned to have a population of 12,00,000 and employment potential of 4,50,000 by 2021. While settlements have started coming up in Greater Noida, it is still in the developing stage and needs greater connectivity with Noida and Delhi. Considering the relatively lower costs of housing at Greater Noida, people prefer staying in Greater Noida and commute to Noida / Delhi for employment. Greater Noida also mainly depends on road linkages for intra city traffic and connection with Noida and Delhi. Greater Noida does not have a railway station and the nearest railway station is Boraki, which is at 3 km from the proposed terminal metro station at Greater Noida. The nearest airport is Delhi at about 45 km from Greater Noida. The population is expected to grow exponentially in Noida -Greater Noida region in the coming years.