Metro seeks 7,200 crore in Delhi Budget to ‘fulfil commitments’

New Delhi: With Delhi govt finalising the revised budget for the 2024-25 financial year, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has written a letter to the chief secretary seeking Rs 7,200 crore for fulfilling various commitments including timely completion of new corridors under Phase-IV and remaining payment to contractors for Phase-III expansion.In a letter to the chief secretary, DMRC managing director Vikas Kumar said if the funds were not made available timely, the execution of phase-IV would be delayed, leading to cost overrun.Under Delhi Metro's Phase-IV expansion plan, the construction of three priority corridors -- RK Ashram to Janakpuri (West), Aerocity to Tughlaqabad, and Mukundpur to Maujpur -- is going on at a fast pace and is likely to be completed in 2026, while the sanction for two more lines – Lajpat Nagar to Saket G block and Inderlok to Indraprastha – was received early this year. DMRC is likely to build another corridor – Rithala to Nathupur – in Phase-IV, but it has yet to receive necessary approvals from central and Delhi govts.The DMRC MD, in his letter, said that the three priority corridors, spanning a total route length of nearly 62 km, were being developed at an estimated cost of Rs 24,948.6 crore and required regular flow of money to meet the project deadline, apart from funds for the other three corridors spanning over 47km. "Your kind intervention in this matter is earnestly solicited to ensure the timely release of the necessary funds, which are crucial for the successful execution of the Phase-IV project and addressing the associated financial obligations. If these are not made available timely, the execution of Phase-IV would be delayed leading to cost overrun," he added.No immediate reaction was available from Delhi govt. DMRC's finance director had also written a letter to the transport secretary seeking funds for non-stop construction of various metro lines to fulfil other financial commitments last month when Delhi govt had just initiated the preparation of revised budget estimates.The govt is likely to seek supplementary grants as per the revised estimates during the assembly session starting Nov 29. DMRC had sought a provision of Rs 1772.9 crore in the budget estimates for 2024-25, but Delhi govt had made an allocation of just Rs 500 crore under capex account, which was subsequently released to the Delhi metro.Kumar has also urged the Delhi govt to urgently release Rs 376 crore to the public works department, which is constructing three unique double-decker viaducts, where metro trains will move on the upper deck and vehicles on lower deck. While there is a 2.4km-long viaduct between Sangam Vihar and Ambedkar Nagar stations on the Aerocity-Tughlaqabad corridor, the double-decker viaduct between Azadpur and Rani Jhansi Road intersection will be about 2.2km long and the one between Bhajanpura and Yamuna Vihar will be around 1.4km. Kumar said the PWD's payment was also linked to Phase-IV construction and should be released immediately.While DMRC has completed the construction of all corridors and extensions under Phase-III, spanning 160km, Delhi Metro has sought about Rs 725 crore to meet the "balance contractual requirements". Repayment of JICA loan - taken as external assistance for Phase I, II and III of metro construction - for the period of Sept 2021 to March 2025, and Delhi govt's share towards foreign exchange variation on it are two other components for which DMRC has sought fund allocation in revised budget estimates."It is earnestly requested that the funds sought under revised budget estimates (RE 2024-25) for Phase-IV project including balance three corridors, increased completion cost of Phase-III project and long pending reimbursement of operating loss may please be sanctioned and approval of Delhi Cabinet may also be accorded, if required, so that the funds can be released to DMRC smoothly," the letter read.