As airport line gets push, Karnataka govt far behind in meeting Centre’s metro rail policy

While work on the Silk Board-Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) metro line gathers speed, the government has serious issues in complying with the Metro Rail Policy, 2017.

The Phase 2A (Silk Board-KR Puram) and Phase 2B (Kasturinagar-KIA) components of the airport metro line were granted approval in April 2021, three years after the Centre adopted a policy requiring state governments to avail its assistance.

Under the policy’s equity-sharing model, the union government provides 20 per cent of the project cost if the state government is willing to meet certain prerequisites, out of which the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) is mandatory. Integrating different modes of transport is imperative to providing seamless commuting service, the policy says.