Rithala-Narela Metro Corridor to be extended up to Har

New Delhi: The Delhi Metro’s Rithala-Narela corridor will be extended to Kundli-Nathupur in Haryana, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said on Wednesday.

The Delhi government has given a principal approval for the extension and will send the proposal to the Centre so that the proposal can move to the tendering stage, he said. “The total length of the metro corridor will be 23.73 kilometers, of which 2.72 kilometers will be in Haryana,” Gahlot said at a press conference.

The minister said the corridor will connect the rural areas of the Delhi-Haryana border to the main city, as buses are the sole public transport there. Commuters from these areas will now be able to reach the heart of Delhi within one and a half hours, he said. “This extension will not only benefit the people of two villages (Kundli and Nathupur) but also all the people of nearby villages,” he added. Gahlot also wished for bail for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been in prison since March in connection with an alleged excise policy scam. The Supreme Court will hear his pleas seeking bail in the matter on Thursday.

Gahlot said the government’s app-based premium bus aggregator scheme is a “giant leap towards a pollution-free Delhi” after he inspected the first lot of buses launched under the initiative.

The Delhi Motor Vehicles Licensing of Aggregator (Premium Buses) Scheme, which aims to reduce intra-city usage of private vehicles and pollution in the national capital, was notified last year. The scheme introduces the nation’s first-ever aggregator scheme exclusively tailored for premium buses. Gahlot inspected the first lot of buses of Uber at Rajghat Depot. “I inspected the first lot of Premium Buses, set to be launched under the Delhi Premium Bus Aggregator Scheme.

With zero-emission, electric buses leading the way, under the leadership of @arvindkejriwal, we’re taking a giant leap towards a pollution-free Delhi!” he posted on X. Under the scheme, licence holders will be permitted to determine bus routes, fares charged would be dynamic but no lower than the peak fare of Delhi Transport Corporation AC buses. Only pre-booked digital ticketing will be permissible in these buses, with no physical tickets issued. Through the scheme, the government seeks to encourage the middle and upper-middle class to switch to public transport.