Chandigarh, March 24 The Haryana Cabinet on Tuesday approved the construction of a 136 km Delhi-Panipat-Karnal RRTS corridor, a high-speed, modern public transport system that will connect the urban and semi-urban areas of the state with the National Capital Region (NCR).
According to the approved proposal in the cabinet meeting, the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), or Namo Bharat, corridor will extend from Delhi to Panipat and further up to Karnal.
The estimated cost is over Rs 33,000 crore, of which the share of the Haryana Government is Rs 7,472 crore. The state's contribution will be released in a phased manner, an official statement said.
The project proposes 11 stations in Haryana, which will provide seamless and high-speed connectivity between urban and semi-urban areas of the state and the NCR. The corridor is expected to significantly reduce travel time, ease road congestion, and contribute to pollution control.
The Cabinet also approved that the depot infrastructure will be jointly planned by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) and the land-owning agency concerned. The depot will be developed at ground level, with provisions for commercial development above it, enabling additional revenue generation.
To strengthen the financial viability of the project, provisions have been made under the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) policy to allow a higher Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in areas around RRTS stations. This will promote planned urban development and generate additional resources for the project.
The Cabinet has designated the Administrative Secretary, Town & Country Planning Department as the Nodal Officer for the project and authorized him to sign agreements and related documents with NCRTC.
The Cabinet also desired that this RRTS corridor be extended beyond Karnal to Panchkula via Kurukshetra and Saha, and the matter would be taken up with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the NCRTC.
This corridor is expected to improve access to employment, trade, education and healthcare, while promoting balanced and sustainable regional development.
In another decision taken in the meeting that lasted about six hours, the Cabinet approved the revised cost estimate of the ambitious Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) Project, meant to strengthen regional connectivity and boost industrial growth, the statement said.
Once completed, the HORC project will provide direct rail connectivity to major industrial and logistics hubs such as Kharkhoda, Manesar and Sohna, while also supporting the development of new townships in the Haryana NCR region.
The Cabinet approved a revised project cost of approximately Rs 11,700 crore, as against the earlier sanctioned cost of Rs 5,618 crore.
"The increase in project cost can be primarily attributed to multiple factors, including a sharp rise in land acquisition costs, changes in alignment, new bridges in the NCR region, general cost escalation over time, and an increase in GST rates on works contracts from 12 percent to 18 percent.
"Additionally, changes in railway policies and the need for upgraded technical specifications have contributed to higher construction costs," it said.
The project is being executed through a joint venture structure under Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (HRIDC), with participation from key stakeholders, including government agencies and private partners such as Maruti Suzuki India Limited and Allcargo logistics.