Bengaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday used the launch of the Namma Metro Yellow Line in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to point out that the central govt has contributed less than the state to the public transport project.“The agreement is that the Centre gives 50% and the state 50%. However, the state is spending more,” Siddaramaiah said at the event, adding, “So far, 96.1km of Metro line work is completed. The state govt spent Rs 25,387 crore. The Centre has spent Rs 7,468.8 crore only.”He said the state had also borne the burden of loan repayments. “The Centre is helping with technical and monetary assistance, hence it is called a joint collaboration. The central govt gives a loan and has kept equity. And we have to give back the loan with a rate of interest — so far, we returned Rs 3,987 crore,” he told the audience at IIIT-B.Siddaramaiah gave ridership projections for the 19.1-km Yellow Line, built at a cost of Rs 7,160 crore. “With the Yellow Line, 3.5 lakh additional commuters can travel daily. The Bengaluru Metro has 9 lakh ridership each day. Therefore, with the addition of the Yellow Line, a total of 12.5 lakh people can travel by Metro in the city daily,” he said.Tracing the Metro’s origin, the CM said it began in 2005 during the prime ministership of Manmohan Singh, and was driven by the need to decongest the city. He outlined plans to expand the network to 220km by 2030, carrying 30 lakh passengers daily.While phases 1, 2, 2A and 2B have been completed, the foundation for phase 3 has been laid, and the DPR for 3A has been sent to the Centre for approval. Phase 4, spanning 53km, is targeted for completion by 2030.In a pointed appeal to Modi, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka had been given “stepmotherly” treatment. “Just as you are giving importance to Maharashtra and Gujarat, kindly also give importance to Karnataka and provide more support,” he said.The Yellow Line launch has seen both the Congress and BJP seeking to claim credit — the state govt highlighting its financial contribution, and the Centre pointing to its role in funding and technical support.
