Metro train service not feasible in Cuttack-Bhubaneswar till 2041

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Housing & Urban Development Minister Pratap Jena on Tuesday said metro train service is not feasible in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack till 2041.

Replying to a question by Congress MLA Suresh Routray, the Minister informed the state assembly that currently, there is no proposal regarding metro rail service in the two cities.

He said the state government had not proposed the Centre for the metro rail project between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack following an unsuitable report on feasibility study.

The Minister said a Hyderabad-based company- M/s Balaji Railroad Systems Ltd (BARSYL) had been entrusted with the task of survey for the project. The company had carried out the survey and found no feasibility for the project.

“We had asked the company to re-conduct the study by extending the project limits up to Khordha-Jatani. In its report, the company had stated ‘a full-scale metro rail project is not feasible till 2041. In view of the report, we had not proposed the Centre for the project,” Jena informed the House.

Based on population and some other aspects, the company had conducted the survey, the minister said.

The State government had paid only Rs 52 lakh to the private firm for the survey while received only 12.61 lakh from the Centre, Jena said.

Notably, in August 2014, the state government had engaged Hyderabad-based consultant Balaji Rail Road System Limited (BARSYL) to prepare the feasibility report on the mass rapid transit system (MRTS) or the metro project.

Metro train is suitable for cities with around 25 to 30 lakh population. According to the 2011 census report, the population of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack were estimated at 8.37 lakh and 6.06 lakh respectively though there might be slight growth over the years.