Revanth Reddy scraps Airport metro project along ORR; wants it through Old City, LB Nagar

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has asked the Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd authorities and Municipal Administration and Urban Development department to put the Hyderabad Airport Metro Ltd on hold. He wanted the concession agreement of L&T and the contribution of GMR Airport in the Airport metro project to be investigated and reviewed. The Chief Minister wanted the airport connectivity to be ensured through Old City and also from L B Nagar and beyond and not along the Outer Ring Road (ORR).

He conducted a detailed review on the Hyderabad Metro Rail project, its expansion plans, Airport Metro project, etc. He wanted to know how the Airport Metro alignment was fixed along the ORR through G.O.111 area, where the scope for development was limited and already a very good transport facility in the form of ORR was existing. He expressed that since a major part of the city’s population was in central and eastern parts and in the Old city, priority should have been given to take the Airport Metro alignment through Old city from MGBS-Falaknuma; and from LB Nagar area to serve a vast majority of the common people.​

He emphasized that the city would have to be developed and expanded equally in all directions and that Hyderabad had tremendous potential to be a global city with no geographical limitations. Keeping the fact that Telangana was already at 40 percent urbanisation and was further rapidly getting urbanized, Hyderabad city should be planned for accommodating initially about two crore population and finally around three crore population, by creating satellite townships all around ORR and Metro Rail should play an important role in providing affordable and fast connectivity to these satellite townships.

​He instructed the senior officers to keep the present Airport alignment plan and its tender on hold and quickly prepare alternative alignments from MGBS-Falaknuma and from LB Nagar via Chandrayangutta. He directed MD, HMRL to prepare cost effective alternatives of taking it (1) via Mailardevpally, Jalpally and P7 Road; or (2) via Barkas-Pahadishareef and Srisailam Road.

Revanth Reddy desired that if a straight line alignment could save costs, it could cut across the open areas of the Airport premises as the entire land belonged to the Government.

​Further, he advised the senior officers to plan for an environment-friendly mega township in the huge extent of lands acquired for Pharma City near Kandukur. He opined that the polluting Pharma City should not be nearer to Hyderabad and instead, it should be located in a distant place.

He also instructed MD, HMRL to plan for Metro Rail connectivity to this mega new city from the Airport area via Tukkuguda on Srisailam Road.

​Expressing his dissatisfaction with the way several benefits had been handed out to the Metro Rail Concessionaire L&TMRHL despite non-completion of 5.5 km stretch in the Old city, he directed the senior officers present to get the whole matter investigated.

He desired that the Concession Agreement of L&TMRHL and that of GMR Airport and the supplementary Concession Agreement of Metro Rail should be thoroughly examined to protect Government’s interests.

Stating that his government took a balanced approach between welfare schemes and development of the city, he directed the senior officers to come up with a Master plan for the city, including beautification of the Musi and making use of the right of way available along it’s banks to plan for east-west road-cum-Metro Rail connectivity from Nagole to Gandipet, duly connecting the intercity bus terminal of MGBS. He advised the senior officers to think big to exploit Hyderabad’s potential to be a logistics and medical hub between the Western and Gulf countries on one hand South East Asia on the other.

He also instructed them to plan for a dry port, since Telangana is a landlocked state.

​Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Minister for Revenue, I&PR Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Chief Secretary A.Santhi Kumari, Spl.CS MA&UD Arvind Kumar, MD, HMRL NVS Reddy and others participated.