NAGPUR: MP Vilas Muttemwar once again demanded that the central government should increase its contribution in Nagpur metro rail project. Raising the issue through rule 377 in the parliament, which could not transact any business on Wednesday, he said that the formula for cities like Pune could not be applied to Nagpur as its population was half that of the former.
As per the current formula the share of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is 5% and that of Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) is 5%. The state government will contribute 20% while the central share is 20%. Remaining 50% will be loan.
Apparently feeling that it may be difficult to fund half the project through loan, the state government had asked NMC and NIT to double their share so that the loan component reduces to 40%. Both the local bodies had refused.
Muttemwar said that the central share should be increased to 40% for all non-metro cities so that the loan component reduces to 30% and funding becomes easier for these projects.
The MP further said that Nagpur was one of the important cities in the country which was developing fast industrially. Unfortunately, the transport network has not increased to the same extent to meet the increasing requirements of this city having a population of over 40 lakh, he said. The state government had submitted a proposal for a metro rail with this aim in mind.
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