GMRL likely to hold first board meeting on March 20
The Haryana government on January 25, had approved the formation of the Gurugram Metro Rail Ltd for metro connectivity from Millennium City Centre to Cyber Hub Gurugram
The Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL), the newly-formed special purpose vehicle to execute the Gurugram metro project is likely to hold its first board meeting on March 20 and discuss issues in connection with setting up the Gurugram Metro. The foundation stone of the project was laid virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 16 in Rewari.
Officials aware of the matter said that in the first meeting, the board of directors is expected to approve the previous work, which was taken up by the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC) for the metro project. These projects primarily include the pre-construction work such as appointment of consultants for geo-technical survey, appointment of design consultants and similar such work.
“The board meeting is scheduled for March 20 and technical issues will be discussed in it. The process to adopt a logo for Gurugram Metro is also likely to be taken up. The meeting will basically facilitate the takeover of the metro project work by GMRL,” a government official aware of the matter said.
As part of the pre-construction activities, HMRTC has already floated and allotted the tender for geo-technical investigation of a portion of the Gurugram metro rail project to a private consultancy. The geo-technical consultant will carry out geological and other sub-strata related study of the route alignment of the metro project for the first 13 kilometres, according to the tender allotted by the corporation.
The HMRTC also floated a tender for hiring a detailed design consultant for the Gurugram metro project last month. The bids of this tender are yet to be opened.
The corporation has also appointed the Ms Rites Ltd to carry out an environment impact assessment study of the Gurugram metro project. The final report is likely to be submitted by March 31.
“These issues are likely to be discussed by the GMRL board,” said the official.
Earlier in March, GMRL chairman D Thara and managing director TL Satyaprakash had conducted an inspection of the route alignment of the Gurugram Metro.
The Haryana government on January 25, had approved the formation of the Gurugram Metro Rail Ltd for metro connectivity from Millennium City Centre to Cyber Hub Gurugram. GMRL is a 50:50 jointly owned company of the government of Haryana and the government of India, which shall function as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for smooth implementation of the project, the order issued by Arun Gupta, additional chief secretary, town and country planning department, Haryana had said.
A state government spokesperson on March 6 stated that D Thara, additional secretary, Union ministry of housing and urban affairs had been appointed as chairman of the Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL). TL Satyaprakash, managing director, HMRTC is the managing director of GMRL. The board has eight other members including GMDA CEO and MCG commissioner apart from senior Haryana government and central government officials.
The Union cabinet in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 7, 2023 had approved the Gurugram metro extension project from Huda City metro station now called Millennium City Centre metro station to Cyber Hub in a 26.65 km loop that would cover the entire old Gurugram. It also approved a 1.85 km spur to the Dwarka expressway.
The cost of the project has been pegged at ₹5,450 crore.
The proposed 28.5-km Gurugram metro project will have 27 elevated metro stations.
The Gurugram metro project was conceived in 2017. The project has been delayed due to multiple changes in the route alignment and delay in finalisation of the detailed project report (DPR). Residents of the city have been demanding a metro rail in Gurugram for several years as they have to remain dependent on private cars and vehicles to commute within the city in the absence of a quality mass transport system.