Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, on Saturday, told the house that he would ask those studying the metro/transport system to look for a feasible mass rapid transport system that would connect the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The study would include various means of transport that can plausibly link the region.
The CM made this statement as a passing reference after demands for better connectivity through mass rapid transport system in the MMR came up during the discussion on the Thane metro.
Nawab Malik, NCP MLA, said: "We should have something similar to the Delhi Metro in the NCR region that covers three states without any problem. There is no reason why there should be any difficulty in that."
To this the CM said: "We are looking at a comprehensive transparent system. A study is going on; we will tell them to think in these lines too wherein a mass rapid transport system like the metro and the BRTS connects each of the regions."
The Thane metro—Wadala-Ghatkopar-Teen Haath Naka (Thane)-Kasarwadavli—will be looking to connect different regions. A study report on it is expected in a month's time. It will be around 32km long and have 29 stations, and is expected to cost Rs 22,000 crore.
Sena MLAs then demanded an explicit date on which this metro would start operating and even staged a walkout over this.
"A date cannot be given as it would take another month for the study to be over. The government will be able to take a decision within two months after that," said Chavan.
And though Chavan did not state categorically that Thane metro would be a PPP model, he did state that the government had committed many mistakes on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar, which is a PPP model. There are different financial models like the CIDCO and MMRDA that are being looked into, he said.
Other demands from the members that the CM said he would look into are: forming a consultation group for the region, and a separate ministry for it this.
"In the next 50 years, the population would have grown to a large extent and there will be problems of land too. Why not think of having a separate ministry with a senior IAS officer as part of it," asked Girish Bapat, BJP MLA.
On Thane metro, the CM also said that some part of it in the Mumbai city could be at an elevated level and some underground.
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