Metro rail ; Metro Phase I Extension

The nine-km phase-I extension of the Chennai Metro project, which will pass through crowded working class neighbourhoods in the city’s north to Tiruvottiyur, has been approved, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday.

“I approved the files just yesterday,” he said.

Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Naidu said residents of densely-populated zones like north Chennai were in need of good public transport facilities. “Adding more and more cars on the road is just not feasible,” he noted.

The Metro extension from Washermenpet to Tiruvottiyur, with seven stations in between, now just has to be formally cleared by the Union Cabinet before construction can begin.

A section of the 45-km-long Metro network that is currently under construction would be completed by March 2015, he said. “The people of Chennai will be able to travel by Metro by next year.”

Mr. Naidu reiterated the plan to turn Velankanni into a heritage city. “Kancheepuram and Srirangam are also on the list to be taken up in the next phase,” he said.

On the ‘Smart Cities’ programme, he said the proposal was still at an early stage and the modalities of what exactly constitutes ‘smart’ were being worked out.

Ajai sreevatsan : H 14 Nov 2014