Hyderabad Metro Rail Says Telangana Cm Revanth Reddy

The Telangana government is ready to take up Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase- II work without Centre’s assistance, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said Monday.

Reddy said that the state would take up the work on 100% equity without the Centre’s share, and demanded that the Union government issue a ‘No Objection Certificate (NOC)’ to the state for taking up the Metro Rail expansion work.

Addressing a press conference, the chief minister said that he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers Manohar Lal Khattar and Ashwini Vaishnaw several times, and urged them to sanction the metro rail expansion project that was already delayed for years.

Reddy said that the Centre had earlier agreed to sanction the Metro Rail Phase II project with a 50 per cent equity share by the Union Government after the contract agency L and T company expressed the inability to maintain the metro line. The company created Rs 30,000 crore worth assets which incurred an annual loss of Rs 400 crore. The CM said after consulting the centre, the State Government took over Metro Rail assets for just Rs 15,000 crore.

To clear the L&T Metro ‘s loan amount of Rs 13,600 crore from banks at an interest rate of 8.25 per cent, CM Revanth Reddy said that the government convinced Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) for funding and secured loan of Rs 13,600 crore from a Japanese entity at an interest rate of 4%. The chief minister questioned the centre for not permitting the transfer of loan from IRFC to the state government. “We have already paid Rs 1,400 crore dues. We also submitted a letter confirming the Reserve Bank’s approval, yet the loan transfer was blocked,” Reddy alleged.

Reddy asked the Union minister from Telangana, G Kishan Reddy, to take the responsibility of release of funds to the state government from IRFC. “The state government is ready to bear the entire cost of the execution of the metro rail expansion project. The centre should issue NOC,” Reddy said.

The Metro Rail expansion project was covering the jurisdiction of four BJP MPs including Kishan Reddy’s Lok Sabha segments, the CM. The chief minister alleged that the Centre discriminated against Telangana and approved only the metro rail projects of Ahmedabad, Uttar Pradesh and Visakhapatnam recently.

“We are not politicising the metro rail issue. Our goal is to take over the first phase of the Metro and complete Phase II,” Reddy said.

Nikhila Henry is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. With a career spanning 17 years, she has established herself as an authoritative voice on South Indian affairs, specialising in the complex intersections of politics, education, and social justice. Experience & Career: Nikhila commenced her journalism career in 2007 as an education correspondent for The Times of India in Hyderabad,where she gained recognition for her coverage of student politics. Her professional trajectory includes a four-year tenure at The Hindu, where she focused on minority affairs and social welfare. In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the South Bureau Chief for The Quint, where she directed regional coverage across all five South Indian states. Her expansive career also includes a tenure at the BBC in New Delhi and contributions to prestigious international outlets such as The Sunday Times (London) and HuffPost India. Expertise & Focus Areas Nikhila’s reportage is marked by a deep-seated understanding of grassroots movements and institutional policy. Her core focus areas include: Regional Politics: Comprehensive analysis of the socio-political dynamics across South India. Education & Student Movements: Chronicling the evolution of Indian academics and the rise of youth activism. Minority Affairs: Rigorous reporting on the welfare, rights, and challenges facing marginalized communities. National Beat: Elevating regional stories to national prominence through investigative and on-ground reporting. Authoritativeness & Trust A respected figure in Indian media, Nikhila is not only a seasoned reporter but also an accomplished author and editor. She authored the critically acclaimed book The Ferment: Youth Unrest in India and edited Caste is Not a Rumour, a collection of writings by Rohith Vemula. Her dual background in daily news reporting and long-form authorship allows her to provide readers with a nuanced, historically-informed perspective on contemporary Indian society. Find all stories by Nikhila Henry here. ... Read More