Delhi: Plans to develop multimodal hubs at 96 metro stations to be ready by February

NEW DELHI: Multimodal integration (MMI) plans for 96 metro stations in the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) network will be ready by February-end, following which the decongestion work outside these stations will begin, DMRC has informed the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA).
The MMI plans include providing parking spaces, erickshaws, e-autos and space for pedestrians.The Chhatarpur Metro Station is one of the recent ones that have been redeveloped based on this model. The revamped station now has a green public plaza for pedestrians and halt-and-go parking bays for buses, Gramin Sewa vehicles and autorickshaws. DMRC said they were procuring 100 electric feeder buses that would soon be used across different metro stations.
At a meeting on Thursday, DMRC informed EPCA that plans for 60 metro stations under Phase-III have been approved by Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC), however, certain changes would be made based on the suggestions by Delhi Police.
“We will be making certain additions and amendments to the Phase-III station plan and then send it to UTTIPEC. It will be ready by January-end, after which work on Phase-III can begin,” said a DMRC official present at the meeting.
In terms of Phase-I and Phase-II metro stations, a total of 36 stations have to be revamped under MMI, the final plans for which were being prepared. “The work on 36 stations will be completed by February-end, for which the necessary approvals from UTTIPEC have been sought. The work on all the 96 stations can begin after the end of February,” said the official.
Sunita Narain, EPCA member, told DMRC to finalise the plans at the earliest so that other agencies involved could be alerted. In most metro stations, multiple agencies will be involved, including municipal corporations and PWD, among others. “DMRC will not be the only agency involved in the revamp process, and so, as soon as the approval is received, we will need to inform the other bodies to start working on the part of the metro station which falls under their jurisdiction,” Narain added.
DMRC officials said that they have sought around Rs 90 crore fund from the Union ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) for the 96 stations.