BHUBANESWAR: The first meeting of the inter-ministerial committee on Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Project held at Lok Seva Bhawan on Wednesday discussed key modalities for implementation of the project which has seen several changes in its plan in the past few months.
Chaired by deputy chief minister KV Singh Deo, the meeting discussed on a comprehensive mobility plan to address the increasing traffic congestion in Twin City Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
“We discussed several issues like inter-departmental coordination, strong and efficient public transport system, comprehensive mobility plan for traffic de-congestion, rail-road integration, e-mobility and other modalities for seamless transition across transport modes,” Works minister Prithiviraj Harichandan told reporters after the meeting.
He said, a clear picture on the roadmap of the metro rail project will emerge after another two to three rounds of discussion, taking views of experts into account while keeping in mind the convenience of people and traffic issues in the two cities.
As per the direction of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the committee constituted a sub-committee on the day which will be headed by Singh Deo. A panel of ministers will be members of the sub-committee. The deputy chief minister said the ministerial panel has already held discussions with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation CEO Kalyan Patnaik, Vikas Kumar and Pramit Garg.
The metro project has undergone several changes after the BJP government came to power. Ground work for phase-I construction of the project was put on hold as the government decided to revise the DPR to facilitate a flyover on the elevated corridor from Jaydev Vihar to Nandankanan.
However last month, Harichandan had said that the government will revisit the project as an elevated corridor is not possible in the city due to logistical and urbanisation issues. Besides, it will severely impact the beautification of the city. “The project will be an underground metro project,” he had said.
Industries minister Sampad Chandra Swain, chief secretary Manoj Ahuja, principal secretary, Finance Saswat Mishra, principal secretary, Housing and Urban Development Usha Padhee and BMC commissioner Rajesh Pravakar Patil attended the meeting and presented their views.