Bhubaneswar, April 7 (IANS). Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra on Monday wrote a letter to Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal seeking his immediate intervention. He urged that the proposed metro rail project started during the previous government should not be canceled by the state government.
In his letter, Sasmit Patra said that this metro project, built during the BJD government led by former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, is a very important public transport system for the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Khurda-Puri corridor.
He wrote, “I urge you that the proposed metro rail project of Odisha is not canceled by the state government. This project is an important transport backbone for the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Khurda-Puri region.”
Patra alleged that if this metro project is cancelled, it will lead to loss of a well-planned infrastructure plan and the people of Odisha will be deprived of better transportation and economic opportunities.
He said that governments change, but development projects should continue as it is in the public interest.
He also informed that this metro project made by the previous government was completely financed by the state government.
Patra said that if the Odisha government is shutting down the project, the Central government can restart it as metro projects come under the National Urban Transport Policy and Metro Rail Policy 2017.
He said that these policies have provisions like 50:50 cost sharing between the Center and the State and financial assistance from the Centre, so that the projects do not stop due to financial difficulties.
It is noteworthy that the state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday decided to terminate the agreement with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, thereby canceling the Bhubaneswar Metro project.
Also, it was decided to make Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Corporation Limited a nodal agency for planning and implementation of urban transport schemes in the state.
–IANS
AMT/ABM