NEW DELHI: The cabinet Tuesday approved three multi-tracking railway projects, extension of Ahmedabad Metro and a new integrated airport terminal in Srinagar with a total investment of Rs 11,806 crore. The cabinet also approved an increase in MSP for raw jute.Announcing the decisions, I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the railway projects — doubling of Gondia-Jabalpur track and laying of third and fourth lines on Punarakh-Kiul and Gamharia-Chandil corridors — will increase Indian Railways’ network by about 307 km and will enable the national transporter to introduce 38 more express and passenger trains.The total investment in these projects, passing through eight districts across Maharashtra, MP, Bihar and Jharkhand, will be around Rs 9,072 crore and these will be completed by 2030-31.Vaishnaw also announced development of the Civil Enclave at Srinagar airport at an estimated cost of Rs 1,677 crore. “People want to visit the Valley, and there is high demand for air traffic” he said.In an official release, govt said the cabinet approved extension of Ahmedabad Metro at a cost of around Rs 1,067 crore. It will be completed in four years. This extended corridor is expected to benefit approximately 23,700 passengers in 2029.
Govt approves equity investment hike of PowerGrid
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Tuesday approved a proposal to increase the equity investment threshold of public sector enterprise Powergrid from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 7,500 crore per subsidiary, enabling it to bid for capital-intensive transmission projects. It will allow Powergrid to expand investments in its core business and support the evacuation of renewable energy capacity, helping achieve the 2030 target of 500 GW from non-fossil fuel-based sources.
