The second phase of the Metro Rail in Hyderabad is facing a delay as the Centre has informed the State government that the approval of such proposals depends on the feasibility of the project and availability of resources. An RTI was filed to seek details of a letter written by the Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao and the current status of the proposal at the Ministry of Urban Development. The Centre has informed the State government that the proposal for phase-II is currently under appraisal in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Rama Rao had written a letter to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri requesting speedy approval of the second phase of Metro Rail with a budget of Rs 8,453 Crore. The proposed project includes a metro line originating at BHEL and going up to Lakdikapul for a length of 26 km with 23 stations, and an extension of Corridor 3 of phase-1 from Nagole to LB Nagar for a length of 5 km with four stations.
The Ministry has raised several issues related to the proposal, including the need for an updated Detailed Project Report (DPR) based on current price levels and cost components framed in accordance with the Ministry’s benchmarking standards. The Centre has also sought information on the status of the formation of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), justification for selecting the present alignment, and cost escalation.
Additionally, the Centre has asked the State government to furnish details on the status of constitution of Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) as a statutory body, as well as details of items covered under public-private partnership along with their costs. The approval for the Phase-II corridor from Airport Express Metro between Raidurg and Shamshabad Airport (31km) would be communicated separately.
Overall, it appears that the approval process for Phase-II of Hyderabad’s Metro Rail project is facing some challenges, but efforts are underway to address these issues and move forward with this important infrastructure development.
