Monalika Medatwal
Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Diya Kumari, while presenting the interim budget in the Assembly, has announced plans to expand Phase-2 of the proposed metro in Jaipur (from Sitapura to Ambabadi) to Vidyadhar Nagar. The first DPR of Phase-2 was prepared during the Ashok Gehlot government’s tenure.
In 2012, a 23-kilometre track was proposed in the DPR prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The cost was around Rs 10,400 crore but in revised DPR, the cost has come down to Rs 6500 crore
Officials of the urban development and housing (UDH) department stated that because of two reasons another DPR for this project was necessary. First, in the Interim Budget on Thursday, the government extended the proposed route of the Line 2 on its north western side – from Amabari to Vidyadhar Nagar.
Second, owing to a few infrastructure-related projects – like the Signal-free Traffic Projects at the Laxmi Mandir Tiraha and at the B2B Bypass on Tonk Road – the alignments of the earlier proposed route need to change.
“The last time the DPR was prepared in 2021, the project cost was reduced to Rs 4,600 crore from Rs 10,000 crore. After almost three years, following the mandatory realignments of routes and because of the extension announced, the project cost would definitely increase,” said a UDH department
First, in the 2021 DPR, it was decided that the entire stretch of Line 2 would be elevated and there won’t be any underground stations. Metro Line 2 would interchange with Line 1 at Chandpole Station, not at Sindhi Camp station. Second, a few stretches of the route had been realigned to bring down cost. Third, the size of metro stations of Line 2 had been reduced.
According to this plan, the Line 2 would run for a stretch of 23.51km from Indian Gate (Sitapura Industrial Area) to Ambabari. With the new announcement, this metro line would now cover 25 km.