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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday laid the foundation stones for two metro lines and an affordable housing project for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The projects, worth ₹33,000 crore, are aimed at at least partially addressing the problems of housing and mass transportation in the region.
The foundation stones were laid at Kalyan, which is a part of the burgeoning MMR.
Metro 5 line will connect Kalyan with Thane via Bhiwandi, which is rapidly mutating from a sleepy textile town to a logistics hub. Metro line 9 will connect Dahisar with Mira Bhayander in the western suburbs.
Both lines will cost the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Agency, which is the primary agency of the State government for metro line development in the region, ₹15,000 crore .
Modi also launched an ₹18,000-crore mass housing scheme, which will be developed by the City & Industrial Development Corporation at Navi Mumbai. The low-cost housing schemes will offer 90,000 units under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
At the launch event, Modi surprised the audience by addressing it in Marathi. People from Maharashtra had contributed immensely towards nation building, he said.
The Prime Minister added that by 2022, when the country will be celebrating its 75th year of Independence, every family will have a pucca house.
275-km Metro network
He also stated that by 2024, the Mumbai region will have a metro network of 275 km. It is urban mobility and travelling in comfort that builds great cities, he noted. The Centre’s infrastructure thrust will revolve around cities such as Mumbai, he added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said a detailed project report for the two new Metro corridors — Dombivli to Taloja and Mira Bhayandar to Virar Metro — will be brought out soon.
He added that his government has always had a 360-degree approach towards urban mobility — Metro, Mono, Bus, Water Transport and Railways. Through the Urban Transportation Authority, the State government promises a single-ticket journey from-anywhere-to-anywhere within an hour, he added.
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