The Uttar Pradesh Government on Wednesday paved the way for the second Metro link to Ghaziabad by clearing the draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a 9.41-km route that will extend from Dilshad Garden in Delhi to New bus stand in Ghaziabad.

The entire route is proposed to be an elevated section and would be on right of way of GT Road to connect various Ghaziabad localities at seven stations. The stations will come up at: Shaheed Nagar, Raj Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, Shyam Park, Mohan Nagar, Arthala and New bus stand.

The government’s clearance for the new link would set the stage for the signing of MoU between the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in the coming days.

The DMRC board had cleared the project in January and later the draft MoU was sent to GDA — nodal agency for the project execution. The draft was later sent to the state government officials but it could not be taken up due to imposition of the model code of conduct for the general elections.

The cabinet on Wednesday cleared the MoU for the project. Now, the GDA and DMRC will sign the MoU for project execution. The UP government has authorised GDA to implement the project and entrusted it with the responsibility for making payments to the DMRC,” GDA vice-chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav said.

Of the total project cost of Rs 1,770 crore, the Central government will contribute `397.40 crore while the DMRC will bear Rs 256 crore. The remaining amount of Rs 1,116 crore will be borne by various UP agencies, including GDA.

The project is estimated to be completed in three years with GDA paying Rs 545 crore, Rs 393 crore and Rs 178.6 crore in three instalments to DMRC by the end of June each year, starting 2014. Earlier, the DMRC officials had inspected the proposed alignment route before the general elections.

Apart from relieving heavy traffic congestion in Ghaziabad, the route is expected to cater to over 87,000 commuters and will prove a boon for the intra-city connectivity. GDA officials said since the route covers various residential areas, the footfall would be significantly higher.

Presently, Ghaziabad has a single operational 2.57-km Metro extension from Anand Vihar in Delhi to Vaishal, which caters to a people living in Indirapuram, Kaushambi, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Delta colonies.

The GDA officials are in touch with their DMRC counterparts to draw up the formalities for the signing of the MoU.