New Delhi, December 10, 2014

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for transfer of land for the implementation of Metro Rail Projects.

The proposal is to restrict Ministries/Departments/PSUs of the Central Government from asking for land in exchange for land required for the implementation of Metro Rail Projects. The concerned Ministry/Department/ PSU would be compensated in monetary terms for the transferred land based on the rates as per prevailing guideline values. Once a Metro Rail project has been approved by the Cabinet, all Ministries/ Departments would give operating rights on the relevant land sought by the Metro Rail Company, immediately. This would be even during consultations between the concerned Ministries pending the actual transfer of the land, so that work of the project does not suffer.

Background

This decision will help in speedier implementation of Metro Rail Projects in the country and will avoid time and cost overruns and the consequent loss to the public exchequer. Rail-based `Mass Rapid Transit System` has been accepted the world over as a major solution for most traffic and environmental pollution related problems and also for being a catalyst for economic growth of cities.