The Punjab government has asked the Centre for viability gap funding for the Rs 9,000 crore Ludhiana Metro Rail project considered to be lifeline for the state?s burgeoning industrial town.
The viability gap funding scheme provides financial support in the form of grants, one time or deferred, to infrastructure projects undertaken through public-private partnerships with a view to make them commercially viable. The Union government has established a viability gap fund to aid infrastructure projects which face the viability gap due to inherent nature of projects. The scheme administered by the finance ministry comes in aid of projects under public private partnership (PPP) mode.
A top official in Punjab chief minister?s office told FE that the Punjab chief minister has sent a demi official (DO) letter to Union finance minister requesting him to treat Ludhiana city as the special case to fund viability gap on the pattern of Delhi Metro.
The DO letter says that ?Ludhiana, the Manchester of India has more than 27,000 medium and small scale industries, was providing employment to migrant people who commute intra-city and to adjoining industrial towns like Mandi Gobindgarh and Khanna. It was only in national interest that the Union government to adopts this project.?
As the Punjab government has been insisting on viability gap funding, the Ludhiana metro rail project has been delayed and it will take at least six to seven years for the project to be executed.
In fact Delhi Metro Rail Corporation managing director E Sreedharan who visited Ludhiana admitted that because of delays ?the estimated cost of the project that was Rs 6,600 crore in 2008 had gone up to Rs 7,500 crore by now?.
However, the detailed project report of the project has estimated Ludhiana Metro project cost at Rs 9,000 crore. According to detailed project report, the first corridor of Ludhiana metro will be 15.798 km long having 14 stations. The second corridor will be 13.035 km long with 13 stations.
Despite escalating costs in view of delays Sreedharan still finds the project ?a viable solution for the commuters in Ludhiana?. Meanwhile Chandigarh has also decided to have a Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) including metro rail. The proposed MRTS project will include metro rail, Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) and Commuters Rail Service (CRS). Chandigarh will initiate the MRTS project jointly with the state governments of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.