Union Government had sanctioned nine new metro projects for Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Lucknow, Chennai (Extension), Pune and Noida-Greater, Noida, and Delhi, with a total length of about 180 km at a total cost of about 49,000 crores. Andhra Pradesh is yet again disappointed not to have Vishakapatnam or Vijayawada on the list.
Interestingly, Vizag is more densely populated than Nagpur and is also a better economic zone. But then, the interest on North worked in Nagpur favor. Metro Rail in Chennai is a big failure and now an extension is granted. BJP’s Special Interest in Tamil Nadu post-Jayalalithaa’s demise ensured that.
Metro Rail Projects are promised to Vijayawada and Vishakapatnam, according to Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act. But the BJP led Central Government has put that in backburner citing various reasons. The state government is trying to execute these projects through external funding.
