Spend Rs 7 crore on development works instead of Metro DPR

Smart City should give priority to essential works- MP Jaleel

Aurangabad, Feb 23:

Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the metro is being prepared at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore under Smart City. On Wednesday, MP Imtiyaz Jaleel in a letter to the CEO of Smart City, Astik Kumar Pandey demanded that this work should be stopped immediately and priority should be given to the essential development works related to the common man.

Jaleel mentioned in the letter that work has been started to prepare the DPR of Metro. For this, Rs 7.5 crore will be paid to the Mahametro company, preparing DPR from the Smart City scheme. I am a member of the Central Urban Development Committee which oversees the development work being carried out in various cities of India. The committee observed that Mahametro only prepares DPRs for projects which are impossible to implement and collects huge fees. The Metro project is run entirely on a private basis. It is not funded by the union Ministry of Railways. Thousands of crores of funds are required to start a metro project. How will the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation raise thousands of crores of rupees for Metro in future. To date, the municipal corporation has not paid its share in the Smart City itself.

The DPR prepared by Mahametro is going to be completely wasted. According to the city's development plan, the metro line is not possible at present. This fund should be used for city parks, public works. The city needs only a single flyover and few junctions, especially on Jalna road, he said.