Kolkata: The state urban development department has cleared the construction plan and project cost of the 5.9-km New Town-Metropolitan flyover and sent them to the finance department for its approval, a state govt official said.Sources said a project clearance committee, which operates under the finance department, will examine the plan and the department will provide the final seal of approval for the project cost.“We will be able to float the tender once the clearance from the finance dept arrives. We expect it to be cleared soon,” the official added.The state budget, presented in June, allocated Rs 900 crore for the flyover. Later, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) engaged railways subsidiary Rites to vet the cost of the project. In its report, Rites said the construction would entail Rs 1,218 crore.“After Rites vetted the project cost, it was sent to the urban development department. The department then sent the file to the finance dept for its approval,” said an official of KMDA, the state govt agency that is likely to execute the project.While presenting the budget, state finance minister Swapan Dasgupta said that connectivity between New Town and central Kolkata was “poor”. “I propose construction of a 7.4 km long Chingrighata-New Town elevated corridor,” Dasgupta had said.He said the flyover will relieve congestion and improve connectivity to New Town. “This corridor will have ramps, elevated parking base, noise barriers, bridge health monitoring system and CCTV surveillance,” Dasgupta said.The flyover is likely to take off from Metropolitan crossing on EM Bypass and move to Chingrighata crossing above the Bypass. At Chingrighata, it will take a right turn and head straight. The flyover will again turn right from Nicco Park crossing and enter Sector V. There will be up and down ramps in Sector V, said KMDA sources.The New Town end of the flyover will be near the apartment Panache, said an official.A stretch of the flyover will run above the protected East Kolkata Wetlands. A KMDA source said they have designed the flyover in a manner that no rainwater is discharged into the wetlands from the flyover. “There will be pipes attached with the flyover that will drain out the water outside the wetlands,” said an official.The flyover promises to provide an alternative route for commuters to Salt Lake and New Town. Long snarls on the road connecting Chingrighata and Nicco Park are a daily affair. “It takes almost 30 minutes to cover the 2 km distance,” said an IT employee at Sector V.
