The Union Urban Development Ministry wants cities to do more than just express intent to have a metro railway system. The Ministry is annoyed that cities have been limiting their role to submitting a detailed project report and attaching an application for the Centre to approve and fund their metro systems. A senior official of the Ministry on Wednesday said cities should play a more proactive role and emulate Kochi’s determination to get the metro project sanctioned. “Cities like Patna, Lucknow, Nagpur and Pune are all entitled to a metro system, but there has been lack of enthusiasm from the respective State governments. It is not enough to send a project report, attach an application and then claim the file is pending with the Centre. They have to come to us with details of the State Cabinet approvals and budget details for the projects,” said an official. “Kochi Metro is an example of how a metro project needs to be followed up. There was doggedness on their part for the sanction of metro in the city,” the official said. Brushing aside concerns of financial non-viability, the official said: “We have drafted and circulated a plan for the cities to make metro viable. Metro depots and stations can be used for commercial activities; they can be used to accommodate malls, cinema halls, and office spaces. Property tax along metro corridors can be hiked, land use can be changed to raise funds.” The official said cities that have a population of two million and above are eligible to pitch for a metro. “Several cities including Patna, Coimbatore and Madurai that can have a metro have not pursued the issue with us. Chandigarh has also just submitted a project report,” the official said. Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath told the Lok Sabha recently that the Gujarat Government is yet to submit a DPR for the 111-km Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar metro project. So far, the Gujarat Government has only taken an “in-principle” decision to adopt the framework of a 50:50 joint ownership between the State and Centre for the project. States that have submitted a proposal for metro rail projects between 2009 and 2012 include Tamil Nadu for the extension of a 9.051-km line in Chennai, Karnataka for the 72.095-km Bangalore Phase II, Rajasthan for the Jaipur East-West Corridor and the North-South Corridor. The Ministry has also received proposals from Maharashtra for the 33.5-km Mumbai Line III and the 31.515-km Pune Metro, and the 28.954-km Ludhiana Metro from Punjab. The Ministry has already made provision to fund seven metro rail projects in the country with a corpus of Rs.5,879 crore. Metro projects are currently under execution in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai and Kochi.