News Brief
Jaipur Metro Mulls Alternative Routes After Proposed Extension Halted: Report
Jaipur Metro
The Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) is considering other expansion routes following the state government's cancellation of the earlier proposed Badi Chaupar-Transport Nagar extension through Surajpole Gate, Times of India reported.
The decision to cancel the planned extension, announced by Urban Development and Housing (UDH) Minister Jhabar Singh Kharra in the state assembly on 7 March, has led to JMRC ordering RITES to carry out a feasibility study for new metro corridors.
For Line 2 and other possible extensions, RITES will, under the Rs 4.69 crore contract, prepare Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for six different metro stretches.
They include two 3 km corridors: one between Badi Chaupar and Ajmeri Gate through Johari Bazaar and Sanganeri Gate, and another from Sanganeri Gate to Transport Nagar.
The decision marks a strategic turnaround in metro planning following the BJP-led government shelving the earlier Congress regime's extension plan.
The initial plan, which covered Surajpole Gate, was dropped, causing a controversy in the assembly.
In rebuttal, a UDH official rejected the allegations made by the Opposition.
"If now govt implements the plan to extend metro services from Badi Chaupar to Ajmeri Gate and from Sanganeri Gate to Transport Nagar, this allegation of the opposition won't stand. These two alignments would pass through Kishanpole, Hawa Mahal and Adrash Nagar constituencies. Of which, two have Congress MLAs," the official was quoted as saying by ToI.
The new metro alignment would enable the project to leave the Walled City through Sanganeri Gate, before making a turn towards Ajmeri Gate, providing connectivity to major commercial and residential hubs.
The feasibility study is likely to determine the final route choice.
