Centre on Friday accused the West Bengal government of creating hurdles in the East-West Metro Corridor project.
The state government has withdrawn a petition pertaining to land acquisition on a particular stretch in the metro project from the Kolkata High Court and has advocated a change in the alignment.
"The change in the alignment at this stage will not only delay the project further but cost will also escalate many fold. The state government should facilitate in executing the project instead of delaying it," said Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury here. The 14-km long metro corridor project connecting Howrah with Salt Lake is to be executed at an estimated cost of Rs 4,874 crore out of which Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to provide Rs 2,253 crore as soft loan. While the cost will go up by Rs 700 cr, it will be difficult for the JICA to provide loan after the change in alignment, Chowdhury, a bitter critic of TMC supremo said.
Earlier, the state had acquired land at a particular stretch for the project and affected persons had moved court against the acquisition. The court found procedural fault in the acquisition and asked the state to return the land. The state had appealed against the decision.
