The Union budget allocations for at least two Metro projects in Calcutta have gone down, according to figures shared by railway officials.
The budget has proposed ₹705.5 crore for the upcoming New Garia-airport link or the Orange Line and ₹906.6 crore for the upcoming Joka-BBD Bag corridor (Purple Line), a Metro official said.
The Orange Line, now functional between Kavi Subhash (New Garia) and Beleghata, and the Purple Line, now functional between Joka and Majerhat, were both allocated around ₹1,500 crore in the last budget.
A source in the railways linked the drop to progress, or the lack of it, in construction.
The construction at Chingrighata to bridge a vital gap in the Metro viaduct of the Orange Line has been stuck for a year.
The RVNL, the implementing agency for both the Orange Line and the Purple Line, has been waiting for clearance from the police to traffic blocks during the night to lift concrete segments needed to bridge the gap.
In the Purple Line, the construction of the Esplanade station was supposed to start in 2023 with a deadline of three years, but work has not started yet.
The logjam stems from the refusal of many traders in the Maidan market or BC Roy Market to shift to an alternate makeshift market built by the RVNL.
In December, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha that the Bengal government had to act to break the deadlock in ongoing Metro projects.
“The allocations are dependent on the realistic assessment of the progress of a project in the near future. If there is good progress, funds will not be a problem,” a railway official said on Sunday.
The Green Line or East-West Metro has been allocated ₹529 crore in this year’s budget, said the Metro official.
The corridor is already functional on the full stretch between Howrah Maidan and Salt Lake Sector V.
“The project is complete. The money is meant to clear pending financial liabilities,” said a source.