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Real estate boom vs last-mile challenges — mixed reactions to Khattar’s Gurugram metro projects

In his budget speech Thursday, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced approval for long-pending Gurugram Metro extension, as well as 3 new metro rail projects.

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Gurugram: A day after Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced extensions in Gurugram’s metro rail system, opinion is divided on the benefits and challenges of the scheme.

Part of the National Capital Region (NCR), Gurugram has fast grown into a business and corporate hub, with modern apartment complexes coming up to keep up with the housing needs of those working in its plush office spaces. While the city is already linked to Delhi by metro, extensions announced by the CM in his budget speech Thursday, will help boost the real estate market, said Navdeep Sardana, chairman and managing director of real estate firm Whiteland Corporation.

Sardana added: The availability of efficient and convenient transportation options, such as a metro system, is known to be a key factor in driving the growth of the real estate market. We also appreciate the efforts of the Haryana Government as developing infrastructure is essential for the economic growth and development of a country.”

Residents, however, point to last-mile challenges, claiming that the proposed metro upgrades will help only if those are addressed.

“The biggest problem of Gurugram is that metro isn’t an ideal mode of transportation because of the lack of last-mile connectivity. Roads in Gurugram are already heavily crowded. We have underpasses that get flooded during the rains. The government needs to improve all that,” said Inder Parkash, a representative of the United Residents Welfare Association of Gurugram.

In his budget speech Thursday, Khattar announced that approval for the long-pending Gurugram metro rail extension has already been received from the Union government’s Public Investment Board, and only a final nod from the Union cabinet is still awaited.

Expected to cover a distance of 28.5 km — from Huda City Centre to Cyber City, via Subash Chowk, Krishna Chowk and Sector 22 — the extended route will have 27 stops, including a station to change lines. The project is expected to cost Rs 6,400 crore, and the CM expressed hope that construction work will start in the 2023-24 financial year.

The extension project has been reportedly hanging fire for the past five years.

“I hope that construction work of the Gurugram Metro will commence in 2023-24,” said Khattar, also the finance minister of Haryana.

He also announced three new metro rail projects in his budget for the 2023-24 financial year — Rezang La (Gurugram) Chowk to the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi link, the Southern Peripheral Road to Panchgaon via Global City and Manesar and the extension of the Bahadurgarh Metro till Asaudha to connect with the Haryana Orbital Rail Network and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway.

In a budget worth Rs 1.83 lakh crore budget, Khattar allocated Rs 5,408 crore for roads, highways and railways sector.


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Elevated railway lines, city bus services

The budget speech included proposals for elevated railway lines in Bahadurgarh and Kaithal and city bus services in nine cities in the state.

“We will be introducing city bus service in nine cities of Haryana having municipal corporations and also in Rewari city and augmenting the existing city bus service in Gurugram, Manesar and Faridabad, said Khattar.

He further said: “Procurement of 550 AC electric buses is at an advanced stage, of which 175 are mini-buses. The city bus service will be provided through a special-purpose vehicle in partnership with the urban local bodies and the transport department. I expect the services to be available in all the cities in 2023-24, thereby providing relief to commuters and passengers in these cities.”

The Haryana CM also proposed setting up six new multi-modal bus ports in Gurugram, Ballabhgarh, Hisar, Sonipat, Karnal and Pipli, in public-private partnership (PPP) mode and a city interchange terminal near Gurugram’s City Centre.

(This is an updated version of the copy.)

(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)


Also read: More moo-lah for cow welfare: Haryana govt hikes Gau Seva Aayog budget 10x to Rs 400 cr


 

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