Kalindi Kunj-Botanical Garden Metro land acquisition put on fast track

Kalindi Kunj-Botanical Garden Metro land acquisition put on fast track

Noida: In an effort to fast-track work on the 3.962-km Metro link between Kalindi Kunj in Delhi and Noida Botanical Garden station, the Noida Authority held a meeting with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and the UP irrigation department on Saturday to acquire land required for the project.

According to irrigation department officials, a survey will be conducted for identifying the location and area of land required. “Once this is completed in the next couple of days, we will send our proposal and reports of the survey to the state government for their approval,” said R S Yadav, executive engineer of UP irrigation department.

Sources said that work on the Metro link could start by the end of this month once the requirement of about 45,000 square metres of land receives the go-ahead from the government. This land will be utilized for the construction of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary Metro station in Noida.

To be built at a cost of Rs 845 crore, the elevated section, which will be a part of Delhi Metro Phase-III from Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden, is expected to be ready for use by commuters by 2016.

Noida Authority CCEO Rama Raman said that Metro connectivity to the satellite towns of NCR was being accorded the highest priority. The 30-km Metro link between Noida and Greater Noida and 6.6-km link between Noida City Centre and Sector 62 were also discussed in the meeting, he said.

The irrigation department also gave its nod for a parallel bridge to the bridge at Okhla Barrage. The 574m bridge, which is estimated to cost Rs 139 crore, will mean immense relief to thousands of commuters who take the Kalindi Kunj Bridge to commute between Delhi, Noida and Faridabad. Currently, the narrow bridge caters to nearly 1.5 lakh vehicles daily.