Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has released the new Metro Policy for expanding the metro network across various cities in the country. <br/><br/>The policy was approved by the Union Cabinet last month. Mr Puri unveiled this new policy at a workshop on New Metro Rail Policy in New Delhi yesterday. <br/><br/>He said, the policy provides useful guidance on making viable metro rail proposals. <br/><br/>Expressing his concern over urban mobility, Mr Puri urged all the States to set up Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities in all the 53 cities with over 10 lakh population each to ensure integration among all modes of transport on a regional basis. <br/><br/>The Minister said, it is difficult to imagine Delhi without Metro Rail which is now carrying about 30 lakh passengers every day. <br/><br/>The new Metro Policy empowers States to make rules and regulations and set up permanent Fare Fixation Authority for timely revision of fares. It also makes Public Private Partnership component mandatory for availing central assistance for new metro projects. <br/><br/>Currently 370 kilometer metro network is under operation in seven cities while 537 kilometer network is under construction in 12 cities.