Hyderabad Metro phase 2: KTR writes to Centre alleging discrimination, wants proposal approved on merits

A controversy has erupted in Hyderabad over the alleged denial of approval for phase-2 of the project by the Centre.

KT Rama Rao had in November last year requested the Centre to grant in-principle approval for the Miyapur-BHEL to Lakdi-ka-pul corridor. (File photo)

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Telangana minister K T Rama Rao has appealed to the Union government to “get the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-2 project proposal examined dispassionately on the merits of the DPR and have it approved at an early date.”

A controversy has erupted in Hyderabad over the alleged denial of approval for phase-2 of the project by the Centre. On Tuesday, Rama Rao – or KTR as he is known – underlined “pure discrimination against Telangana” in his letter to the Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri who holds the Housing and Urban Affairs portfolio. “If the traffic of Hyderabad’s high-density corridors does not qualify for a metro rail project, I wonder how a number of small cities of UP like Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur, Agra, Prayagraj, Meerut and cities located in some of their favoured states get qualified. This is nothing but pure discrimination and step-motherly treatment to Hyderabad and Telangana,” he said.

In response to a letter from the state government in October last year, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had in December sought certain information regarding the detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed Metro corridor between BHEL and Lakdi-ka-pul (26 km) and the extension of corridor 3 of phase-1 from Nagole to LB Nagar (5 km).

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The Union ministry’s letter, received in response to an RTI application by I Ravi Kumar of Vijayawada, had called for the DPR, prepared in November 2018, to be updated as the cost mentioned was not as per benchmarking rates released in February 2019. Among 14 more points seeking clarification, the ministry even said that the peak hour peak direction traffic (PHPDT) and ridership were ‘very less’ to justify the project and may be supplemented by other modes or by feeder systems.

The December 2022 letter from Vikash Kumar, Undersecretary, Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, to Telangana Special Chief Secretary (MA&UD) Arvind Kumar also sought details of cost escalation and justification for the proposed alignment. Also, while seeking details of the external funding agency, the Union ministry wanted to know about the state’s efforts to ensure the financial sustainability of the proposed phase-2 Metro project.

KTR had in November last year requested the Centre to grant in-principle approval for the Miyapur-BHEL to Lakdi-ka-pul corridor (26 km) and a connection between Nagole and LB Nagar (5 km), estimated at Rs 8,453 crore as a jointly owned project of the Centre and the state government with external financial assistance.

On Tuesday, the minister also noted that multiple attempts on his part to meet Union minister Puri to explain the importance of phase 2 of the Hyderabad Metro went in vain. “Given your professional background, I had hoped that you would ensure the fair and objective treatment to our infrastructure development proposals without any bias or prejudice,” the minister mentioned in his letter to Puri seeking another appointment to clarify any doubts in this regard.

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