BJP MP blames Andhra govt for neglecting Visakhapatnam metro rail project

New Delhi [India], March 21 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP GVL Narasimha Rao on Monday blamed the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government in Andhra Pradesh for neglecting the Visakhapatnam metro rail project.

This comes after the Centre in Parliament said that there was no proposal for Visakhapatnam Metro Rail Project from the Andhra Pradesh government.

Replying to a starred question by Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri stated that there is no pending proposal from the Andhra Pradesh government for sanction of Visakhapatnam Metro Rail Project.

Puri in a written reply stated that the Central governmnet had requested the Andhra Pradesh government to resubmit a proposal as per the revised Metro Rail Policy, 2017 and informed that the state government has not submitted any proposal in this regard.

However, the Minister informed, the Andhra Pradesh government in the year 2018 has informed that they intend to build a light rail project under Public Private Partnership (PPP) and requested central government support for external financial assistance from Korea (Korean EXIM Bank).

The proposal was submitted by the central government and posed it to Korean EXIM Bank for financing. However, Korean EXIM Bank had shown its inability to fund this project. Accordingly, the Andhra Pradesh government was advised about the refusal of Korean EXIM bank in April 2019, the Minister said.

Andhra Pradesh government was asked that the Visakhapatnam Metro project proposal might be posed to other bilateral/ multilateral agencies for loan assistance. However, till date, the Andhra Pradesh government has not submitted any proposal for financial assistance from other bilateral/multilateral agency for Visakhapatnam Light Metro Rail project so far.

Commenting on the Union Minister's reply in Parliament, BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao said that lack of interest on the part of the YSR Congress Party-led state government alone was responsible for Visakhapatnam not getting the much-needed metro rail Project.

"Instead of falsely blaming the Central government for its inaction, YSRCP government should formulate new proposals for the construction of the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail Project and seek support from the central government towards Viability Gap Funding (VGF)," added the BJP MP.

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