Union Minister Khattar seeks Centre-state cooperation; says Centre will support development projects

KOCHI: Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, speaking at the Kerala Urban Conclave, said the state will have the support of the central government in implementing development projects. He cited the example of the regional rapid transit system and said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has discussed the project with him. Once the state government prepares and submits the detailed project report, the ministry will approve and support it, he said, adding that the state should sign the MoU for the second phase of the Prime Minister Awas Yojana. With Metro and Water Metro, Kerala is also a state with a modern transportation system. The Centre and state are working together to complete the work of the second phase of Kochi Metro. India is set to become the second country, after China, with the longest metro rail system. Now we are in the third position after China and the United States of America. The discussions for four more metro rail lines in the country are progressing. Once the work is completed, India will be the second country with a metro covering a longer area, he added. Urging cooperation between the Centre and states, he said the governments may have different ideologies, but as far as development is concerned, the Centre and states should work together.