Delhi Metro said the cost over run of its Phase-II project was just INR 1,050 crores as against the figure of INR 10, 218 crore given by government in a reply in Parliament.

Mr E Sreedharan MD of DMRC after approving the Phase-II at a cost of INR 8,118 crore on August 30th 2005, the government sanctioned the Qutub Minar to Gurgaon corridor, the Central Secretariat to Badarpur corridor and sanctioned procurement of additional 128 coaches to reduce over crowding.

He said that "It leaves a cost over run of only about INR 1050 crore which was basically due to the increase in the cost of cement and steel and copper items from 2005 onwards.”

However, the agency based its story on a written reply by minister of state for statistics and program implementation Sriprakash Jaiswal.

According to the reply, the Phase-II project was planned to be implemented at a cost of INR 8,676 crore but as per revised estimates the anticipated amount is INR 18,894.36 crore. In percentage, the over run is 117.78%

But Mr Sreedharan said that with the additional sanctions the approved cost of Delhi Metro is about INR 15,400 crores. However, the final cost is expected to be about INR 17,300 crores.

(Sourced from ET)