3 months ago
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The Congress authorities has been pushing for the Central government’s support to signifier a Joint Venture (JV) to mobilise backing and unafraid mandatory clearances for the projected Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) Phase II implicit the past fewer months.
During his caller sojourn to New Delhi, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy reiterated his government’s committedness to the project. He confirmed that the State medication intends to instrumentality implicit the task from Larsen & Toubro (L&T) adjacent period aft completing the indispensable fiscal and ineligible formalities.
Government-appointed consultants — IDBI Bank and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) — are presently examining the fiscal and method aspects of the projected takeover from L&T, including the outstanding indebtedness of ₹13,000 crore and an equity of ₹2,000 crore.
However, bequest issues from HMR Phase I — a 69.2-km web built crossed 3 corridors — whitethorn inactive airs challenges erstwhile the empowered committee comprising officials from the Centre and the State meets to analyse the modalities for clearing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Phase II-A and II-B. These phases screen 162 km crossed 8 corridors astatine an estimated outgo of ₹42,000 crore, according to authoritative sources, who requested anonymity.
A cardinal interest is the 7.5-km corridor betwixt Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) and Chandrayangutta successful the Old City, which is expected to look person scrutiny. Road widening on this alignment has progressed implicit the past twelvemonth without large resistance, with astir 500 structures cleared aft outgo of enhanced compensation, totalling much than ₹400 crore.
However, the process was precocious challenged successful court, and officials admit that the empowered committee is apt to instrumentality a captious presumption of operation plans on this stretch. The corridor forms portion of Phase II-A, with Chandrayangutta planned arsenic an interchange presumption for the 36.6-km Nagole–Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) line.
Turning the clock, during the operation of HMR Phase I, the 11-km Green Line from Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) to Falaknuma was halted astatine MGBS owed to objections from the AIMIM implicit practice and spiritual structures on the route. This impasse led to the Centre withholding ₹254 crore of the sanctioned ₹1,458 crore Viability Gap Funding (VGF) nether the public, backstage concern (PPP) model.
Once the MGBS-Falaknuma stretch, wherever a depot was primitively planned connected a 17-acre site, did not materialise, L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) had to conception a one-kilometre nexus from the 29-km Blue Line (Nagole to Raidurg) to the Green Line, on with a 224-metre viaduct astatine MGBS to link the 29-km Red Line (LB Nagar to Miyapur) with the Green Line for operational flexibility. These links were indispensable to determination trains connected the Green Line to depots astatine Miyapur oregon Nagole for maintenance.
The Old City agelong became further analyzable aft the erstwhile BRS authorities signed a supplementary concession statement with L&TMRH successful July 2022, agreeing to widen an interest-free indebtedness of ₹3,000 crore to assistance offset losses, including those incurred during the COVID shutdown. Although astir ₹900 crore was released successful phases, enactment connected the contentious alignment did not progress, with L&TMRH citing the lack of ‘Right of Way’.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy revived the task soon aft assuming bureau and adjacent laid the instauration chromatic for the agelong successful March 2024, successful the beingness of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, adding a governmental borderline to the event. The authorities released funds for roadworthy widening and properties acquisition with an assurance that the practice and spiritual structures would not beryllium affected by taking up innovative engineering solutions to physique the overhead viaduct and stations.
Officials accidental the unresolved Phase I conception whitethorn power some the fiscal colony with L&T and the Centre’s appraisal portion reviewing the DPR and integration plans for Phase II.
