A group of ministers headed by defence minister Pranab Mukherjee is slated to meet on Tuesday to consider extending tax sops to the tune of Rs 1,194 crore for Phase II of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

The Phase II envisages extending the metro by a total of 53.02 km42.24 km of elevated corridors, 8.93 km of underground corridors and 1.85 km of surface corridors. The total cost of Phase II is estimated to be Rs 8,118 crore.
 
The Phase II had hit a rough patch with the finance ministry and the urban development ministry locking horns over the issue of tax exemptions to DMRC. The corporation had benefited from various tax sops in the phase I too. The tax benefits sought by the urban development ministry for DMRCs Phase II include a customs duty waiver of Rs 605.34 crore, excise duty exemption of Rs 352.24 crore, tax waiver of Rs 146.63 crore and another Rs 90.93 crore as work contract tax exemption. DMRC also wants a cut in electricity tax and immunity from exchange rate fluctuations.

Other issues to be taken up by the GoM include laying a metro link to Gurgaon and Noida.