Modi’s dream of bringing Metro to Varanasi faces first reality check

Officials in the Uttar Pradesh government are in a state of shock as they cannot believe that the Centre has rejected the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for construction of Metro Rail in Varanasi and Kanpur – two politically sensitive cities of Uttar Pradesh. One is the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the other is the district from which President of India Ram Nath Kovind hails.

“The decision of the Central government is unexpected and really came as a shocker to us. Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, who was the then Urban Development Minister, had laid the foundation stone of the Kanpur metro project on October 4, 2016, and almost a year later, the Central government asks the state to come up with a new DPR,” a senior official told this reporter.

He said that the DPR for Kanpur metro was submitted on March 29, 2016, and it was scrutinised by the Public Investment Board. “As we did not get any adverse feedback from the Union government, the then Urban Development minister laid the foundation of Kanpur metro. How would we know that in one year, objections will be raised on this issue,” the official said.

The DPR for Varanasi Metro was submitted on June 29, 2016 and the Prime Minister, since then, had said in public meetings that bringing metro to Varanasi was his dream. No one is sure as to what will happen to the PM’s dream though he had promised to convert Varanasi into Kyoto.

The Central government has raised objections about Kanpur and Varanasi metro as these do not comply with the new metro rail policy and the state has been asked to re-work the project and send new proposals afresh. The new policy talks about assessment of the project by third party experts like Institute of Urban Transport. States are required to adopt innovative mechanism to mobilise resources for financing metro projects.

“The new guidelines are very strict. It also talks about the density of the population and alternate modes of transport where metro projects are to be introduced,” the official said.

Metro projects are the buzz word for UP leaders. The first phase of the project was inaugurated in Lucknow by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh while it is proposed in six other cities of the state including Kanpur, Varanasi, Meerut, Allahabad, Gorakhpur and Agra. The DPR for Meerut and Agra are ready while those of Gorakhpur, the city of the Chief Minister, and Allahabad are being prepared.