Work was to begin this month, and DLF authorities said they are ready with designs and plans of the 3.5-km Metro stretch project.

The project requires a sanction from the Centre and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the state government since the project will be constructed on state government property. The DLF authorities are also awaiting approval from HUDA over line alignment.

The Haryana government’s NCR planning department has submitted a report with certain recommendations to the Union Urban development ministry. Sources said the state government wants to impose certain conditions on the builders before work begins.

According to sources, the state government wants a share in revenue collected since the enterprise will drastically raise property prices of surrounding areas, most of which is owned by DLF. The government also does not want the builder to claim ownership on any of the lines, which may later be extended from Mall of India to the international airport, officials said.

DLF had applied for the sanctions in November 2007, with the tentative plan of beginning construction by February-end or early March. The Centre approved the project this January and passed it on to the Haryana government. A clearance, though, is still awaited from the state government.

S D Saini, chief coordinator, Planning National Capital Region of Haryana government, said the green signal would come “soon”. He said, “We are considering the revenue-sharing model between the government and DLF and will soon clear the project.”

As per DLF’s proposal, the builders would bear the whole construction and maintenance cost of the project.

DLF Metro’s executive director C B K Rao said the project, is not “profit-based”. “It is being constructed in public interest,” he said. “We are making provisions for extension of the project but that would only be possible if we receive some government support.”

As per DLF’s plan, the Metro can be extended to Dwarka Sector-21 in the north and Gurgaon Sector-56 in the south.

In the present proposal, the Metro line will stretch from Sikanderpur Chowk to the Mall of India, near NH-8, and DLF officials said all blueprints and contracts with the designers are complete. “We ready to begin work on the day we receive the NOC,” Rao said.