Jaipur metro phase-2 gets major boost as 15-year-old depot land dispute ends

Jaipur: The Jaipur Metro Phase-2 project has received a major push after the long-pending issue of land for the service depot was finally resolved. A 27-hectare land parcel near Bambala Puliya in Sitapura has now been finalised for the metro depot for the 41-km-long Phase-2 corridor.

The nearly Rs 13,500 cr project will also receive financial support from the Asian Development Bank, which will provide a loan of Rs 6,565 cr.

Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation CMD Vaibhav Galriya said approval was granted last week for issuing the letter of award for works worth Rs 918 cr under the first 12-km package of the Phase-2 project. He added that the nearly 15-year-old legal dispute related to the 27-hectare land parcel near Bambala Puliya was now resolved.

According to Galriya, the state govt has also approved a compensation award of Rs 126 cr for the land. He said a modern metro service depot would now be constructed on the site at an estimated cost of around Rs 300 cr and is expected to be completed within the next three years.

“The depot will serve as the main centre for operation and maintenance of Metro Phase-2. Without the depot, operation of the corridor was practically not possible,” Galriya said.

To finalise the funding structure of the project, Chief Secretary V Srinivas recently held meetings in New Delhi with officials from the Department of Economic Affairs and senior representatives of various ministries. Discussions focused on speeding up the loan process for signalling, rolling stock, electrical and track packages.

Metro Phase-2 is being seen as a key connectivity project for Jaipur’s southern and eastern areas. The corridor will connect Sitapura, Vidhyadhar Nagar, Ambabari and several parts of the old city, significantly strengthening the city’s public transport network.