KTR blasts centre for not funding Hyderabad metro rail project

HYDERABAD: Telangana IT and MA&UD minister K T Rama Rao slammed the Center on Saturday for not funding Hyderabad's new Metro Rail project.

In response to the questions from MLAs during question hour in the Telangana Assembly, KTR said that although the Center was funding the development of metro trains even in small towns across the country, it was being unfair to rapidly growing Hyderabad.

He also said that he had warned the metro authorities not to hike Hyderabad Metro ticket prices since they believed the current prices were reasonable. Metro officials were also recommended to have prices that were equivalent to those of TSRTC.

The decision to have advertisements in Metro was made during the Congress government. He said that the new Airport Metro project was designed to be completed in three years.

KTR said that since Charminar is the emblem of Hyderabad, the Charminar Pedestrianization Project (CPP) was a matter of prestige for the state government, and residents would see significant outcomes over the next six months as the construction project was progressing ahead expeditiously.

He said, "Our agenda is to get world heritage status for Hyderabad. If we want that from UNESCO, we must maintain and improve Charminar. The minister said that he was personally monitoring the development in response to questions from AIMIM legislators about the project".

The project includes the restoration and redevelopment of Lad Bazaar, redevelopment of Sardar Mahal, pedestrianisation bridges on Musi, multilevel car parking and khilwat at the old RTC bus station, restoration of Badshahi Ashoorkhana, restoration of Gulzar Houz, restoration of Kali Kamaan, redevelopment of Mir Alam Mandi, and redevelopment of Murgi Chowk, KTR said.

In response to questions about the pending Strategic Nala Development Program (SNDP), KTR said that the project would be completed by Monsoon this year.

KTR said that no other city in India has a Strategic Nala Development Program (SNDP), which was unique to Hyderabad. He also said that phase 2 plans were in the works and would be implemented as soon as funds were available.

In response to the delayed progress of the Balkapur Nala project, KTR said that funding had been approved and that construction in the military area would begin soon. He added, "We have sanctioned Rs 9.70 crores for this project and have sought bidders on it thrice."