'Cafes and kiosks at Metro stations to hike earnings'

Noida: Senior IAS officer Santosh Yadav on Thursday took over as managing director of Noida Metro Rail Corporation. Yadav has replaced Rama Raman, who also holds the post of chairperson of three development authorities of Gautam Budh Nagar including Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway areas.
Yadav, an IAS officer of 1995 batch, was Uttar Pradesh's additional resident commissioner in New Delhi till recently.
After taking charge, Yadav reviewed the works of the 29-km long Metro corridor between Noida and Greater Noida. He directed officials to keep operations and maintenance of the corridor as top priority besides working in close coordination with each other. "My aim is to develop the capacity and strengths of NMRC, including revenue generation, recruitmen, etc" said Yadav.
Yadav said that income from development of various stations will be reviewed. "This can be in the form of billboards, kiosks, cafes, etc in as many stations as possible. The challenge is not in setting up the Metro, but in sustaining it," he said.
Yadav asked NMRC officials to expedite the process of seeking approvals for collection of funds for the Metro and NMRC. "We are waiting for a loan from Public Investment Board (PIB) of Union finance ministry. The loan will meet 20% of the total project cost of the Noida-Greater Noida Metro," he said. "The proposal is currently pending with the Union urban development ministry. Once the ministry gives its nod, the proposal will be sent to the PIB for final clearance. Once approved, the corridor will get nearly Rs 1,100 crore as grant from the Centre," he said. Yadav also said that a VAT reimbursement to the tune of Rs 350 crore will be sought from the Uttar Pradesh government.
Yadav also plans to have the long-pending Noida-Greater Noida bus service in place soon. The service proposes to launch 100 buses by June this year to provide connectivity between the cities. "I have spoken to the state transport commissioner who has promised to complete the formalities in the next few days," he said.
"We hope once the road blocks are removed, the service will be begin as per the plan," he added.