Key stretch of Indore Metro to run underground; project cost to go up by Rs 900 crore

Indore, Dec 14 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Sunday announced that the Metro line along a 3.3-kilometre stretch passing through Indore’s dense residential and commercial areas will now be built underground instead of as an elevated corridor.

He said the state government would bear the additional estimated cost of about Rs 900 crore arising from the change in alignment of the mass-transportation project.

The original Indore Metro project envisages a 31.32-kilometre-long route at a proposed cost of Rs 7,500.8 crore, officials said.

Construction of the Metro line has been underway in the city since 2019, but the project has faced persistent hurdles in densely populated residential and commercial areas. Residents in these localities have opposed the project, citing disruption to daily life and business activities.

CM Yadav reviewed development projects in Indore, the state’s financial capital, on Sunday.

After the meeting, he told reporters, “We have decided that construction of a key section of the Metro rail line in the city will now be carried out underground. The decision has been taken keeping in mind better traffic management, public convenience and the city’s development and aesthetics.” He said the decision would increase the Metro project cost by Rs 800–900 crore, and the additional expenditure would be borne by the state exchequer.

Officials said the Metro will run underground for 3.3 km between Khajrana Square and the railway station, where an elevated corridor was earlier proposed. The stretch is densely packed with houses and commercial establishments.

The chief minister said it was also decided in the meeting to expand the proposed Indore Metropolitan Area, which will now extend across 14,000 square kilometres in western Madhya Pradesh.

He said the metropolitan body would include Indore as well as parts of Ujjain, Dewas, Dhar, Ratlam and Shajapur districts.

“Indore Metropolitan Area will be developed as a major national hub for trade, industry and tourism,” the CM said.

Meanwhile, Yadav also laid the foundation stone for a new building of the state-run Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital, also known as MYH, in the city.

The building, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 773 crore, will have facilities for 1,450 patient beds, officials said. MYH is among the largest government hospitals in the state. PTI HWP LAL NR