Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Metro officials are hopeful of receiving the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for commercial operation from the Commissioner, Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) within the next week or two.
Once the NOC is granted, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the State government will be informed that the metro is ready for commercial service. The government can then decide the inauguration date, an official of the Metro Rail Corporation said. After the state finalizes its plan, it will approach the Centre to request a date from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inauguration of the project.
The priority corridor consists of eight stations between Subhash Nagar Depot and AIIMS. Metro operations will begin on this stretch once the project is inaugurated.
The Indore and Bhopal Metro projects were launched around the same time. Indore Metro was completed first and became functional in May this year. The government initially planned to roll out the Bhopal Metro in October, but things got delayed. Many officials expect the metro to be launched either by the end of this month or the end of the year, depending on the Prime Minister s availability.
No objections received from CMRS
The CMRS team recently carried out the final inspection of the priority corridor of the Bhopal Metro. During the three-day inspection, the team examined every feature related to public safety. CMRS officials were expected to send any objections by Monday or Tuesday. Since no objection was received by Tuesday evening, officials believe the path is now clear for issuance of the NOC.
