Proposal to alter Indore metro rail line gets green light after public protest

Indore, Nov 3 (PTI) A proposal to alter the Metro Rail line on a major route passing through densely populated residential and commercial areas in Indore has been approved, and the new alignment will be underground, Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Monday.

The metro rail work has been underway since 2019, but the project has faced persistent obstacles in residential and commercial areas where residents had protested, claiming the alignment will disrupt normal life and cause problems for their businesses.

"We have unanimously decided that the metro rail will now run underground from Khajrana Square via Palasia Square to the Bada Ganpati area. If necessary, the proposal to change the metro rail line plan will be placed in the Cabinet meeting with the approval of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav", State Urban Development and Housing Minister Vijayvargiya told reporters after a review meeting.

Vijayvargiya said that this change will increase the cost of the metro rail project, and additional funds will be arranged from other sources.

He stressed that the flawed planning of the metro rail line in the city has adversely affected the beauty of some major intersections and road traffic, and that "past mistakes will not be repeated." Officials said that commercial operations have already begun under the first phase of the metro rail priority corridor, covering approximately six kilometers from Gandhi Nagar Station to Super Corridor Station No. 3.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the commercial operations of the first phase of the metro on May 31, the 300th birth anniversary of Devi Ahilya Bai.

According to officials, a total of 31.32 kilometers of the metro rail corridor is to be built in Indore, and as per the original plan, its proposed cost was Rs 7,500.80 crore.

A total of 28 stations are proposed along the entire metro rail corridor in the city with a population of over 3.5 million, which will make local public transport convenient, swifter, and environmentally friendly. PTI HWP MAS NSK