The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Agra Metro Rail Project, granting permission to the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) to implement it.

The apex court gave its approval subject to condition that UPMRC will now have to plant 18,230 saplings, the number is 10 times more than that initially proposed during the project execution phase. This condition is in agreement with recommendations of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).

The detailed project report (DPR) was drafted in 2016 and approved by the Union Cabinet in February 2019, after which Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation in March 2019.

However, due to restrictions and intervention from the SC, the construction work was put on hold. The apex court-appointed CEC reviewed the environmental impact of the Metro project and submitted its report along with its recommendations. After this, SC permitted UPMRC to proceed with the implementation.

The project entailing an investment of Rs 8,379.62 crore is expected to benefit around 20 lakh people of Agra. It will have two corridors, the 14 km Sikandra to Taj East Gate corridor and the 15.4 km Agra Cantt to Kalindi Vihar corridor.

There will be a total of 23 elevated and eight underground stations. Once completed, the project will provide environment-friendly, comfortable and hassle-free connectivity to major residential, commercial and tourist sites like Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.

UPMRC, which has already executed the Lucknow Metro Rail project in a record time of less than four years and six months, has been engaged in planning and designing the Agra project. It has only recently awarded the Agra Metro’s rolling stock and telecom works to Bombardier India.