Centre Flags Delays in Kolkata Metro Expansion Projects

05 Dec 2025 CW Team

The Ministry of Railways has recently informed Parliament that several Kolkata Metro expansion corridors continue to face long delays owing to unresolved land acquisition, encroachment removal and pending clearances from the West Bengal Government. Of the 52 km of metro lines under construction, 20 km remain held up, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

On the Joka–Esplanade corridor, the Joka–Majerhat stretch is operational, but progress on the remaining section is stalled. Land required from the Kolkata Armed Police at Khidderpur was pending for almost five years before being approved in July 2025, while shifting 528 unauthorised shops near Dr B.C. Roy Market continues to delay Esplanade station works. The minister noted that the issue has remained unresolved for more than three years.

Works on the New Garia–Airport corridor are also affected. While the New Garia–Beleghata section has been commissioned, the remaining 22.2 km up to Dum Dum Airport cannot proceed without nighttime traffic diversions at Chingrighata. Although a diversion road was prepared in February 2025, the required NOC from Kolkata Police remains pending.

Progress on the Noapara–Barasat line is similarly hampered. The Noapara–Jai Hind Airport stretch is operational and works up to Michael Nagar are under way, but the segment from New Barrackpore to Barasat is stalled due to pending acquisition of 23,000 sq m of land and unresolved encroachment involving over 2,000 structures.

On the Baranagar–Barrackpore corridor, only the 2-km Baranagar–Dakshineshwar section is operational. The remaining 12.5 km cannot advance as a state-level NOC for a shifted pipeline—completed in 2012—has still not been issued, despite the alignment being approved under a 2011 MoU.

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