‎Srinagar, Jammu metrolite plans returned by centre

Srinagar, Sep 30 : The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Wednesday told the Legislative Assembly that the Centre had returned the proposed Metrolite projects for Srinagar and Jammu, after the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) raised objections to the projects being planned as fully elevated corridors.
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‎The disclosure was made in a reply to a question by MLA Zadibal Tanvir Sadiq, who had sought details of the government’s plans for a mass rapid transit system in Srinagar amid growing traffic congestion.
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‎The government said it had examined the feasibility of a mass rapid transit system for Srinagar and accordingly proposed the Srinagar Metrolite Project as a Light Rail Transit system. Its Detailed Project Report was prepared and finalised before being submitted to MoHUA for consideration.
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‎According to the government’s reply, MoHUA observed that the planned Srinagar and Jammu Metrolite corridors were fully elevated, whereas the Metro Rail Policy, 2017 provides that LRT is generally an at-grade rail-based mass transit system segregated from the main carriageway.
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‎The ministry also observed that the cost advantage of Metrolite was likely to be achieved where such systems were planned at grade. It subsequently returned the Metrolite proposals for both Srinagar and Jammu, the government said.
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‎MoHUA, according to the Assembly reply, further observed that e-buses could be a more cost-effective transport solution for cities such as Srinagar and Jammu.
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‎On whether the government proposed a fresh comprehensive feasibility study covering major Srinagar corridors including Airport, Lal Chowk, Downtown, Soura, Zadibal, Nowhatta and Hazratbal, the reply said these locations were already covered under public transport through Srinagar Smart City Limited with optimal bus frequencies.
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‎It added that additional buses are proposed under PM e-Bus Sewa.(KNS)
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