Emphasizes on linkage of Light Metro stations with tourist destinations, places of high footfall
Jammu, November 28: Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu took a comprehensive review of the proposed Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) and the Light Rail Projects for Jammu and Srinagar cities in a meeting he chaired here today at the Raj Bhavan.
Sh. BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Sh. Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner, Finance; Sh. Bipul Pathak, Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor; Sh. Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department; Sh. Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary Planning, Development and Monitoring Department; Sh. Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, CEO , Mass Rapid Transit Corporation, Jammu & Metro Rail Transport Corporation Srinagar; Sh. Vikas Kundal, Addl. CEO, Metropolitan Regulatory Authority, Srinagar ; Ms. Avny Lavasa, CEO, J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) and Sh. Pankaj Magotra, Commissioner JMC attended the meeting.
Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, Dheeraj Gupta gave a detailed presentation on Jammu / Srinagar Light Rail Projects. It was informed that the prestigious project costing Rs 9590 cr is expected to commence operations by September 2024.
The meeting was informed that the Light Metro Elevated Corridor in Jammu will connect Bantalab to Bari Brahmana Railway Station (Corridor-1) with a total length of 23 km in Phase-I and Exhibition Ground to Udheywala (Corridor-1) and Exhibition Ground to Satwari Chowk (Corridor-2) in Phase-II.
Similarly, in Srinagar, Indra Nagar to HMT Junction (Corridor-1) and Hazuri Bagh to Osmanabad (Corridor-2) of 12.5 km length each and Indra Nagar to Pampore Bus-stand (Corridor-1) Hazuri Bagh to Airport (Corridor-2) will be taken up in Phase-I & II, respectively.
The Lt. Governor emphasized on the linkage of Light Metro stations with the tourist destinations and places of high footfall. He directed the officers to prepare a wise plan for the clearance of Right of Way (RoW), land acquisition and other such matters.
The Lt. Governor observed that the planning and development of Mass Rapid Transit should be timed with growth in travel demand for successful implementation of the mega project.
On current scenario of Urban Transport, it was informed that the Average Daily Trips in Jammu and Srinagar, catered by Public and Intermediate Public Transport is 12 lakh (68%) and 21 lakh (88 %), respectively.
The meeting also discussed several important issues including major parameters for selection of MRTS corridors, fare structure of various operational metro rail systems and transportation model. A video presentation was also given on the proposed MRTS for Jammu and Srinagar cities.
