PATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation for the Patna metro rail project through videoconferencing at Begusarai on Sunday. State urban development and housing department minister Suresh Kumar Sharma talks to Faryal Rumi about the much-awaited project. Excerpts:It will take approximately six months to begin construction works on the Patna metro rail project. Now that the detailed project report (DPR) has been approved by the central government, the bidding process will begin soon. The Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) and the National Institute of Technology-Patna worked hard to chalk out the DPR for the project which was submitted on October 9.In the first phase, work will start on the east-west corridor, which will connect Danapur and Mithapur via Saguna Mor, R P S Mor, Pataliputra, Rukanpura, Raja Bazar, Golf Club, Patna zoo, Vikas Bhavan, Vidyut Bhavan and Patna Junction, covering a distance of 16.94km. It will mostly be underground (11.2km) and is targeted to be completed by 2021.Work on the 14.45km north-south corridor will begin in the second phase and end by 2024. It will connect the Patna Junction with the proposed interstate bus terminal at Bairiya via Akashvani, Gandhi Maidan, Patna Medical College and Hospital, Patna University , Premchand Rangshala, Rajendra Nagar, Nalanda Medical College and Hospital , Kumhrar, Mahatma Gandhi Setu and Zero Mile. It will mostly be elevated (9.9km).The estimated cost of the metro rail project is Rs 13,365.77 crore. The central and state governments will contribute in the ratio of 80:20. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley has already assured the state government that the Centre will provide all financial support for the project.Chief minister Nitish Kumar has already told the departments concerned that there should be no laxity in the metro rail project. A private agency will be roped in to monitor the construction works and submit a report to the department every fortnight.The Patna traffic police are preparing an alternate route chart for traffic movement which is yet to be finalized. The construction sites will be barricaded and other steps taken to avoid hassles.We are planning to set up new sewage treatment plants (STP) in Madhubani, Ara and Muzaffarpur. Three STPs each will come up at Madhubani and Ara and four in Muzaffarpur. Besides, we will train officials of all urban local bodies to make fertilizers and paver tiles by recycling solid wastes and plastic, respectively. We are in talks with a private firm in this connection.

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