Senior Biju Janata Dal leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Sasmit Patra, has written to Union Minister Manohar Lal, requesting immediate intervention to prevent the scrapping of the proposed Metro Rail project in Odisha. Patra emphasized the significance of the project for the Bhubaneswar—Cuttack—Khurda—Puri corridor, originally planned during the previous government. He highlighted that abandoning the Metro Rail project would negatively impact infrastructure development and hinder mobility and economic growth in Odisha.
Patra stressed the importance of continuity in governance and public interest in sustaining crucial projects like the Metro Rail initiative. He pointed out that the previous BJD government had entirely funded the project and urged the Ministry to revive it under the National Urban Transport Policy and the Metro Rail Policy 2017. The policies advocate for a 50:50 Centre–State equity participation model through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and offer central assistance, including Viability Gap Funding (VGF), to support metro projects without financial constraints.
The BJD leader called on the Ministry to persuade the Odisha government to retain the project and support its implementation through a cost-sharing arrangement or equivalent assistance. He emphasized the need to adhere to national policies, ensure infrastructure continuity, and safeguard the long-term interests of Odisha’s residents. The state cabinet, led by Mohan Charan Majhi, recently decided to terminate the agreement with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, effectively ending the Bhubaneswar metro rail project and transforming the Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Corporation Limited into a body for sustainable urban mobility initiatives in the state.
