Cabinet approves Rs 63,246 crore Chennai metro Phase II; Bonus and rewads for Railway, port workers ahead of festive season

The Union Cabinet approved the second phase of the Chennai Metro Rail Project at a financial outlay of Rs 63,246 crore Thursday. There will be three corridors in this phase spanning 118.9 kilometres (kms) covering 128 stations, an official statement said. The Cabinet also approved Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) worth Rs 2028.57 crore for 78 days to 11.72 crore railway employees. In addition to these, a modified Productivity Linked Reward (PLR) Scheme for the major ports and dock labour board employees got the cabinet nod.

“Chennai’s population is expected to reach 1.8 crore (from 1.2 crore in 2026) by 2048, so it is very important to create infrastructure for this city,” Union Minister for Railways, Information Broadcasting, and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw told journalists after the Cabinet meeting.

The approved metro corridors will connect North to South and East to the West of Chennai. Once Phase-II is fully operational, Chennai city will have a metro rail network of 173 kms, the statement said.

Detailing the benefits for Railway employees from the Cabinet decision, a statement said they can expect to receive the PLB before the Durga Puja or Dusshera holidays.

The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951 for 78 days. This amount will be disbursed to Group C Railway staffers which include Track maintainers, Loco Pilots, Train Managers (Guards), Station Masters, Supervisors, Technicians, Technician Helpers, Pointsman, and Ministerial staff among others, a statement said.

Cabinet’s approval for a modified Productivity Linked Reward (PLR) Scheme for ports workers is in line with an agreement signed between the Bipartite Wage Negotiation Committee (BWNC) and the Indian Port Association (IPA). This new scheme will be applicable from 2020-21 to 2025-26.The proposed modification will bring about the efficiency factor along with competition among the Major Ports, a statement said.In addition to these, the cabinet also paved the way for India joining the International Energy Efficiency Hub. This brings India at par with Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, European Commission, France, Germany, and Japan, among others.

South Korea, Luxembourg, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United States and United Kingdom are among the 16 countries that have joined this group aimed at accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.