PM Modi lays foundation stones for 2 metro projects, Rs 18K cr affordable housing scheme in Maharashtra

Kalyan, Dec 18 (PTI) Taking a dig at the previous Congress-NCP government's poor track record in projects execution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said in the past four years of the BJP rule, Maharashtra has been focusing on speeding up and scaling up infrastructure projects.

Speaking at an event here where he laid the foundation stones for two ambitious metro projects and also a Rs 18,000- crore affordable housing scheme, Modi said his government is creating ideal societies through various housing schemes.

"Mumbai is already the financial capital of the country and we are taking initiatives to enhance it further. When we came to power in Maharashtra, we decided to give priority to infrastructure development," he said.

Modi said though the first metro (Versova-Andheri- Ghatkopar) was conceptualised during the Congress regime it took eight long years for them to commission it.

"The first metro in Mumbai was conceptualised in 2006. But for eight years the project was delayed and we have don't have any idea at what level it was stuck. In 2014, when we came into power we decided to not just speed up the process but also to scale up the metro network. And now we have proposed a 275-km-long metro network by 2024," Modi said, adding this will not only improve connectivity but also reduce the problem of traffic congestion in the megapolis.

Taking potshots at the previous Democratic Front government which got embroiled in the Adarsh Housing Society scam, Modi said his government is working towards creating a broader 'adarsh' (ideal) society.

"...This is not the Adarsh Society which was the topic of discussion under the old government. We are creating the real adarsh society where poor families' aspirations are getting realised," he said.

Modi further said since coming to power, his government has built 1.25 crore homes for the poor and marginalised, as against 25.5 lakh under the UPA regime from 2010 to 2014.

"If we compare the pace of work we have undertaken, it would take two generations of the previous government to create this scale of housing infra," Modi said.

He also launched the Navi Mumbai town planning authority Cidco's (City & Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) mass-housing scheme worth Rs 18,000 crore, offering around 89,771 affordable units under the PM's awas yojana.

Taking credit for introducing the Rera Act, Modi said since its rollout, the pace of home-buying has gone up.
"Earlier home-buyers were duped by builders as there used to be a huge difference in what was promised and what was delivered. But with the introduction of Rera we've managed to control this," he said.

Modi said such situations would have not arisen had the Congress-led government taken measures and formulated stringent laws.

He further said 21 Rera tribunals are operational now and Maharashtra was the first state to implement Rera.
"Of the 35,000 real estate projects registered so far, the maximum are in Maharashtra. Nearly 27,000 agents have also been registered," he said.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was present, said apart from the proposed 275 km metro routes, his government is also planning to take the metro network from Dombivli to Taloja and from Mira-Bhayander to Vasai-Virar.

"We don't stop at bhoomi pujans but we ensure we execute the projects. Two years ago, the projects for which foundation stone was laid by Modi, we have been able to complete nearly 60 percent of work," he claimed.

Fadnavis further said the Mumbai metropolitan region is the largest urban agglomeration in the country today and so expanding mobility is very crucial for the further growth of the megapolis.

"During the past 70 years what (Congress-led governments) has achieved on the suburban railway network that carries 70 lakh passengers daily, our government is creating a metro network that will carry 100 lakh passengers daily on completion," he said, adding to strengthen the existing suburban network, they are planning two elevated corridors.

The two metro projects which were launched include the ambitious Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan (Metro-5), and the Dahisar- Mira Bhayander (Metro-9) in the suburbs, with an investment of over Rs 15,000 crore.

The Rs 8,416-crore 24.9-km long Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan corridor is expected to carry around 2.29 lakh commuters daily in 2021. The corridor will have 17 stations and will deploy six-rakes trains.

The 10.3-km elevated Dahisar-Mira Bhayander corridor, comprising eight stations, is expected to be completed by 2022 at an estimated at Rs 6,607 crore. Currently, the northwestern suburbs of Mira-Bhayander are connected to Mumbai via the suburban line.

Tendering for appointing general consultants and civil work contractors for Metro 9 is in progress, and is expected to commence next March. Both the projects are being executed by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

At present, the authority is executing several metro corridors across the megapolis, such as the Dahisar-DN Nagar (Metro-2A), DN Nagar-Mankhurd (Metro-2B), Andheri (East)- Dhisar (Metro-7), Colaba-Bandra-Seepz (Metro-3), the elevated Wadala-Kasarvadavali (Metro 4) and the SwamiSamarthnagar- Jogeshwari-Vikhroli (Metro-6).