Title - High Power Committee to over see Metro rail project

LUCKNOW: The ambitious Metro rail project in Lucknow will be over seen by a committee headed by UP chief secretary, JavedUsmani. The ambitious project has already under gone major changes where in even the route earlier designed has been altered. UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had ordered constitution of such a committee in February. But it took officials more than a month to constitute the panel. Besides the chief secretary, the high level panel will have more than a dozen top other officials from departments like planning, finance, urban development, transport, housing, Lucknow Development Authority, police and traffic. The Lucknow metro is likely to proceed on the lines of the metro rail project in Hyderabad, and would be taken up on a public-private-partnership (PPP) model. Since, the project's parameters have been revised, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which originally submitted the detailed project report in 2011, has once again been asked to incorporate the design change.

The DMRC had though recommended underground route, the state government has been keen overhead track system, which is much cheaper. DMRC teams have already visited the state twice recently in connection with the project. A revised blueprint of the project is likely to be submitted by the DMRC in three months, that is by June.

Along with the HPC, clearance has also been accorded to the formation of a special purpose vehcile (SPV) to implement the project aimed at easing traffic and decongesting city roads.