Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday said the Central government has given in principle approval to the proposed metro railway projects in Pune and Nagpur.
Speaking after inaugurating the Babasaheb Ambedkar bridge near Bund Garden here, Chavan said he had discussed the metro projects with Union urban development minister Kamal Nath, and added that the state government is working on a financial model and on setting up a special purpose vehicle.
Some people have suggested alternatives regarding the Pune metro rail project, he said, alluding to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar preferring an underground metro project instead of an elevated one. The state government would develop it at the earliest after considering the alternatives.
He said a decision on the development plan (DP) of 23 merged villages, pending with the state government for 6 year, “will be made in a few days”. “There are differences on one small issue, and I am trying to remove them,” he added.
Chavan said it was not proper to withhold inauguration of projects if leaders could not spare time for it. Hence, he decided to open a bridge in Mumbai on Thursday without a formal inauguration.
Municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak said work on the new bridge at Bund Garden was started in 2008. Built at a cost of Rs32.5 crore, the four-lane bridge is 425 metre and 21 metres wide. Everyday 80,000 vehicles pass on the old bridge at Bund Garden and the new one would ease the traffic flow.
Comments