Underwater Kolkata Metro cleared

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi

June 5: The Union Cabinet gave its approval for implementation of the East-West Metro Corridor project, Kolkata, covering 13.77 km on standard gauge, from Howrah Station to Salt Lake Sector V at a cost of Rs 4,676 crores. The project is to be executed through a joint-venture company to be formed by the Central and the state government.

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be constituted for successful execution of the project as well as its operation and maintenance. Such SPV will be a joint-venture company of the state government and the Centre. Equity participation of government of West Bengal and government of India will be on a 50:50 basis.

The objective for implementation of the East-West Metro Corridor project, Kolkata, is to provide much-needed additional transport infrastructure to the city.

The Cabinet also gave its approval for introduction of a Bill, namely the Prevention of Money-laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2008 in Parliament. The amendment bill will enable the government to meet certain domestic needs and international obligations.

The Cabinet approved for long-term reconstruction plan at a cost of Rs 399.20 crores to be implemented over two years in Arunachal Pradesh. The government will release additional Central assistance to the state for implementing the reconstruction plan in the form of grant component totalling Rs 359.28 crores to Arunachal Pradesh as an additionality to gross budgetary support.

The state will raise the loan component of Rs 39.92 on its own. The net grant of additional Central assistance (ACA) amounts to Rs 359.28 crores, which will be released in two equal instalments of Rs 179.64 crores each.

This decision will enable the state to undertake long-term reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure.

The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the revised draft agreement between the government of the United States of America and the government of India for financing certain education exchange programmes and also gave its approval for change in nomenclature of the ‘Fulbright Scholarship’ to ‘Fulbright-Jawaharlal Nehru Scholarships and Grants’.

The agreement will facilitate an expansion of the existing Fulbright educational exchange programme to double the number of scholars exchanged with a financial contribution by the government and equal participation of government of India in policy and decision-making on the exchange of Indian and US scholars.