The long-standing deadlock over the New Garia-Airport Metro project (Orange Line) at Chingrighata has finally been resolved. RVNL has received the necessary police clearance and traffic blocks to resume work on May 15 and 22. The project had been stalled for over 1.5 years due to the lack of administrative approvals, a matter that was even raised in Parliament by the Railway Ministry.

The legal battle reached the Supreme Court, where the bench severely criticized the state government’s role in delaying the infrastructure project. While the state cited the Model Code of Conduct and potential traffic congestion as reasons for the delay, the Apex Court dismissed these arguments. Following the Assembly elections, the path is now clear for laying concrete slabs.

According to Metro Rail sources, while the Chingrighata bottleneck is cleared, it might take another 7-8 months to operationalize services up to Sector V. The current target remains to connect New Garia to Sector V by the end of this year, though integrating the Beleghata section will require additional time.