Mumbai: PM to lay foundation stone for 2 Metro projects, 90,000 housing units in Thane

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Mumbai on Tuesday and lay the foundation stone for two key Metro rail projects and a mass housing scheme in Kalyan. The two metro corridors include the Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan stretch (Metro 5), a 24.9-km corridor that will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 8,416 crore, and the Dahisar-Mira-Bhayander line (Metro 9) that will run 10.3km and is to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 6,607 crore. The construction will begin in March 2019.

PM Modi will also launch a housing scheme comprising 90,000 units under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Lower Income Groups (LIG). Officials at the City Industrial and Development Corporation (CIDCO) said the project will be built in the Taloja node, around railway stations like Juinagar, Sanpada, Kharkopar and Bamandongri, and some bus terminals.

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Officials at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) said the Metro 5 corridor, with 17 stations, is expected to carry 2.29 lakh commuters daily when it will be inaugurated in 2021. The elevated Metro 9 corridor, comprising eight stations, was expected to be completed by 2022 and will be integrated with the Dahisar-Andheri (Metro 7) corridor, they added.

“Of the 90,000 houses, 53,000 will be built for the EWS category and the remaining 37,000 for LIG category. A large number of houses is likely to be built in the Taloja node. We will complete this project in three phases within three years,” said a CIDCO official.

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Meanwhile, the Uttar Bharatiya Mahapanchayat will protest against the prime minister’s visit by showing black flags. The members claimed that the central government had not undertaken many development work in Uttar Pradesh despite PM Modi being elected from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency. The Mahapanchayat announced the move after its interaction with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on December 2. He had urged the north Indians to question their leaders for the lack of development in Uttar Pradesh.

PM Modi will later proceed to Pune, where he will lay the foundation stone for the third Metro line between Hinjewadi and Shivajinagar, being implemented by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority on a public-private partnership basis. The Rs 8,313-crore 23-km long third metro line in Pune between Hinjewadi and Shivajinagar will connect the busy information technology part with Shivajinagar, where the other two metro lines will also join. PM Modi will fly to Delhi from Pune on Tuesday night, an official said. 

(With agency inputs)