As construction of the Delhi–Meerut Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) nears completion, budgetary support for the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has been reduced by around 25% in the Union Budget 2025–26.
In the Budget presented on Sunday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a total of ₹2,200 crore has been allocated to NCRTC, compared to ₹2,918 crore in 2025–26 — a dip of nearly ₹700 crore. Of the current allocation, ₹1,324 crore has been earmarked under revenue expenditure and ₹876 crore under capital expenditure.
Officials attributed the reduced allocation to the near-completion of the Delhi–Meerut corridor, the country’s first operational RRTS project. “These allocations would give the push for work to start on new corridors as and when they get sanctioned,” an NCRTC official said.
Interestingly, the latest allocation is higher than the amount the agency has been able to utilise so far in the current fiscal year. With just two months remaining, NCRTC has spent about ₹2,000 crore, leaving a significant portion of funds unutilised — largely under the capital expenditure head. Of the ₹2,471 crore sanctioned for capital works, only ₹1,528 crore was spent.
The NCRTC is currently awaiting central approval for the remaining two corridors under Phase I of the RRTS project — the Delhi–Karnal corridor in Haryana and a section of the Delhi–Alwar corridor. Both proposals are reportedly at advanced stages of consideration. Once sanctioned, these corridors are expected to take five to six years to complete.
At present, a 55-km stretch of the 82-km Delhi–Meerut corridor, from New Ashok Nagar in Delhi to Meerut South in Uttar Pradesh, is operational. The entire corridor has successfully completed trial runs and is expected to be fully operational in the near future. All three Phase I corridors are planned to converge at the Sarai Kale Khan Namo Bharat station in Delhi.
The recently released Economic Survey 2025–26 highlighted the RRTS project’s environmental and economic benefits. Since partial operations began, an estimated 25 lakh vehicle trips have been avoided, helping offset around 69 lakh kilograms of CO₂ emissions. The project also aims to source 60% of its energy from renewable sources.
According to the survey, construction activities between 2019 and 2025 generated approximately 166 lakh mandays of employment, while operations are expected to support around 12 lakh mandays annually. Improved connectivity is also projected to significantly expand access to jobs within one hour of travel — nearly 6.9–7.6 lakh jobs for Meerut and about one lakh for Sarai Kale Khan.
The survey further noted that the identification of nearly 2,900 km of potential Namo Bharat RRTS corridors across regional clusters — including Bengaluru–Mysuru–Tumakuru–Hosur, Chennai–Vellore–Villupuram–Chengalpattu, and Hyderabad–Warangal — could position these regions as future engines of economic growth.
