Maharashtra: Deputy CM Ajit Pawar Directs Officials To Stop 'Neo Metro' In Pune Till Implemented Elsewhere

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has reportedly asked the officials to hold the neo-metro project in Pune until such project is executed somewhere else in the state.

Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) presented the detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed neo-metro project on the 36-km stretch in Pune to the deputy chief minister. He gave the above orders after examining the plan.

"Has the 'neo-metro' project started anywhere in Maharashtra? If we start a project and it is unsuccessful, what do we do? Let the project start in Nashik before we make a decision. Once the new Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) chief is elected, we will discuss this project," Ajit Pawar said, reports Hindustan Times (HT).

"We presented the DPR phase 2 of Maha-Metro which is a 82.5-km stretch to the deputy CM. It includes one line of neo-metro of HCMTR. The deputy CM has not rejected the project, but asked to wait till the Nashik plan takes off," Atul Gadgil, director, Maha Metro, told HT.

Maha Metro is already working on the Metro Neo project in Nashik. The Modi government has allocated Rs 2,092 crore for the Nashik Metro Neo project. The Metro Neo Project in Nashik is going to have two corridors. Both corridors will combinedly extend up to 32 km with 25 stations.

The plan envisions three AC coaches transporting 200-300 passengers over an elevated corridor.

On Nashik Metro, a Maha Metro official said, "It is like a tram running on elevated tracks. It will be powered by batteries, which will be charged electrically. The cost of such a system is Rs 75 crore per km against Rs 150 crore of conventional Metro. Nasik Metro will also be soon cleared by the Union cabinet."

In February 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech, announced the deployment of Metro Lite and Metro Neo to provide metro services at much less cost with the same experience, convenience and safety in Tier-II cities and peripheral areas of Tier-I cities.