High Court asks for report on city metro project:Officials instructed to provide exact completion timeline after petition raises concerns over construction in busy city centre areas

A major hearing took place on Tuesday over a public interest litigation (PIL) against starting the metro train in the middle of the city. The High Court has asked the government and administration to submit a detailed report on the metro project. The court said it must be informed about when the project will start and when it will finish. The case is being heard by a division bench of Administrative Judge Vijaykumar Shukla and Justice Binodkumar Dwivedi. At the previous hearing, the government did not present any reply, and the metro’s lawyers were also absent. Petitioner Raises concerns over city heritage On Tuesday, petitioner Kishore Kodwani said plans are underway to run the metro from Bengali Square to the airport, but he warned that operating the metro in this area could harm the city’s image. There are sites of historical importance like the High Court, Rani Sarai, and Rajwada, which are at great risk from excavation. No permission has been taken from the Archaeological Department for this route either. Also, this project was never placed before the District Planning Committee for consent. Environmental and wildlife impact highlighted The petitioner said that whether the metro runs underground or elevated, both ways will cause heavy losses to the city and traders. The city already faces a greenery crisis. Thousands of trees will be cut. Thousands of parrots live on the trees at Regal Square. If excavation is done for the metro, these trees will be the first to be cut. After the hearing, the High Court has asked the Metro Corporation to submit a detailed report. Delay in route decision Raises concerns A meeting was held in the presence of Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, all public representatives of the city, and ACS Sanjay Dubey to decide how the metro should be prepared from Bengali to Palasia. The ACS had said that a decision would be made within 15 days. More than 21 days have passed, but it has not been decided how the work should be done or which route should be selected. Running the metro underground incurs an additional cost of 900 crore rupees.