Gurgaon MP and junior union urban development minister Rao Inderjit Singh met the Delhi Metro chief to discuss possible Metro routes within the city.
Singh is keen to have a route start from an existing station -- HUDA City Centre or Iffco Chowk -- to Gurgaon railway station, passing through large areas of the old city. The suggested route would be around 12.28 km and would have around 10 stations.
The minister is not in favour of the Dwarka Sector 21 to Iffco Chowk route. Last September, the urban development ministry had asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to conduct a feasibility study on whether a route starting from either Huda City Centre or Iffco Chowk -- passing through Subhash Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Sadar Bazaar and Sector 5 – to Gurgaon railway station is at all feasible.
The authorities had confirmed that the route was feasible and would cost around Rs 2,300 crore, which is more or less the same for the Dwarka-Iffco Chowk route. Moreover, since the link would not pass through too many congested areas construction would be relatively easier. However, the final call is yet to be taken.
Presently, residents of the old city use their private vehicles to reach Iffco Chowk or HUDA City Centre. Singh says, “If people have to use their vehicles to reach the metro stations, the traffic volume will never come down. The whole point of Metro is to decrease dependence on private vehicles, and Dwarka-Iffco Chowk route would not solve the commuting logjam.”
