Two Congress MLAs to move court against govt’s plan to drop Metro extension project

Jaipur: Two Congress MLAs – Rafeek Khan and Amin Kagzi – plan to move Rajasthan High Court to challenge govt's decision to abandon the Metro extension project from Badi Chaupar to Transport Nagar.
They asserted that the relocation of Narayan Singh Circle bus terminus to Transport Nagar by the BJP govt recently made it clear that the resolution to discontinue the Metro extension is politically influenced. The two MLAs said they are seeking legal counsel to challenge govt's decision.
Speaking to TOI, Adarsh Nagar MLA Rafeek Khan said govt is abandoning the Metro project after spending substantial sums of public funds on it because it merely wants to put the residents of the two Congress MLAs' constituencies in a disadvantage.
"State govt has already executed a feasibility study and prepared the detailed project report for this proposed Metro extension. After this BJP govt came, Jaipur Metro Railway Corporation has relocated the underground utility pipelines from Ramganj area. Subsequently, they abruptly decided to abandon the project. I shall not permit the BJP govt to proceed with this abandonment," said Khan.
Congress functionaries said a unified transport committee was established to ensure synchronisation among all stakeholders during the Congress regime. The committee devised a blueprint for mass transport system in Jaipur for the next 50 years and had a scheme to construct four satellite bus stands in four corners of the city and link them with metro services, they said.
"JDA identified two parcels of land for these terminals. However, the BJP govt did not approve of the locations and cancelled both projects of bus terminals and Metro extension till Transport Nagar. Now they have shifted the Narayan Singh Circle bus stand precisely to the land identified during Congress tenure, but held back the Metro extension," said a Congress functionary.
Amin Kagzi, the Congress MLA from Kishanpole, said BJP govt's decisions are aimed purely at penalising the residents of Kishanpole and Adarsh Nagar constituencies because they elected Congress representatives to assembly in most elections. "We have learnt govt has alternative plans to extend Metro services from Badi Chaupar. We shall not allow them to squander public money merely to fulfil their political aspirations," said Kagzi.