Gurgaon: Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has cleared the appointment of Ajay Kumar as managing director of Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL) as it moves ahead with the city’s long-awaited metro expansion. GMRL is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the Centre and Haryana govt, set up to manage and expand the metro network in the city.Kumar is expected to take charge in a couple of days, according to officials. A 2013-batch IAS officer, he is now the managing director of Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC), which handles metro planning for the state, and the chief administrator of Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP). He was appointed HMRTC managing director in Sept.Kumar has previously served as the city’s deputy commissioner.His appointment follows a bureaucratic reshuffle in Sept, when Haryana govt named Mukul Kumar as GMRL managing director in place of Chander Shekhar Khare. However, that appointment did not receive MoHUA’s approval. According to officials, the ministry later asked the state govt to recommend candidates for the post instead of appointing an official directly. Haryana recommended Kumar’s name last week.Kumar said his priority would be to accelerate project execution by reviewing bottlenecks and strengthening monitoring. “Gurgaon Metro project is already at the execution stage. We will speed up implementation across all phases,” he said, adding that he would examine issues affecting progress and work to resolve them.His appointment is expected to improve coordination between HMRTC and GMRL. While HMRTC is responsible for planning, GMRL is tasked with executing the projects. The two organisations will need to work closely as the city’s 28.5-km expansion enters the construction and procurement phase, with a 2029 deadline.Earlier this month, TOI reported that decisions on two key contracts — construction of a depot-cum-workshop and procurement of metro coaches — were pending because of the delay in formal clearance for GMRL’s managing director. Both contracts are essential to making the corridor operational, but they had not advanced to the next stage.Phase I covers the 15.3-km Millennium City Centre-Sector 9 stretch and is scheduled for completion in 2028. Civil construction is underway, with GMRL assembling U-girders that will support the tracks. Around 30% of the civil work has been completed.For phase II, GMRL invited bids earlier this month for the 14.2km Sector 9-Cyber City stretch after Haryana govt cleared the proposal following scrutiny by the World Bank. The package includes 13 stations and two elevated flyover-cum-metro structures — about 1.2 km on Old Delhi Road and 800 metres on Bajghera Road.The corridor was initially planned as a fully elevated line with 27 stations and a 1.8km spur towards Dwarka Expressway. In May, Haryana govt revised the plan, raising the estimated project cost to around Rs 8,500 crore. The revised plan also includes an additional 1.8-km spur from Sector 5 to Gurgaon railway station.The city has not seen metro expansion since 2017, even as rapid urban growth has increased the demand for reliable public transport.
