BRS MLC seeks answers on Hyderabad Metro takeover, questions secrecy and financial burden
BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan has accused the Congress government in Telangana of burdening the State with heavy liabilities through the Hyderabad Metro Rail takeover without securing promised refinancing.
Hyderabad: BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan on Wednesday raised a series of questions over the State government’s handling of the Hyderabad Metro Rail takeover, alleging that the Congress government had pushed Telangana into an expensive financial arrangement without securing the promised refinancing package. He said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy went on a Tughlaq-like misadventure on the takeover deal.
He explained that the government assumed responsibility for Hyderabad Metro Rail’s debt of Rs 13,538 crore after signing a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) on April 29, even though the proposed refinancing through the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) failed to materialise.
Speaking to mediapersons at Telangana Bhavan here, Sravan said even before securing the loan, Revanth Reddy burdened the taxpayers of Telangana with Rs 130 crore in interest payments for a loan that was cancelled. He accused the Revanth Reddy government of creating uncertainty around one of the country’s largest urban transport projects and saddling the State with additional financial liabilities.
The BRS MLC said Telangana was paying nearly Rs 2.5 crore per day as interest on the existing Metro debt despite not securing fresh financing. He said around Rs 130 crore had already been paid as interest between April 29 and June 15 and warned that the State could face an additional burden of nearly Rs 450 crore over the next six to nine months if refinancing delays continue.
Sravan questioned the circumstances under which the government assumed the Metro debt and sought clarity on the collapse of the IRFC refinancing proposal. He also demanded details of a Japanese funding agency that was reportedly expected to provide low-interest financing for the project, alleging that the entity had now disappeared from the process.
The BRS MLC posed 25 questions to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and union Minister G Kishan Reddy, seeking disclosure of correspondence related to the refinancing exercise, the terms governing the transaction, and the status of processing fees allegedly paid during the process.
He questioned why the government proceeded with the agreement before resolving issues with the Centre and whether adequate due diligence had been conducted before assuming liabilities exceeding Rs 13,000 crore.
Alleging a lack of transparency, Sravan demanded that the government release all relevant documents and issue a White Paper on the Metro refinancing exercise.
“Failing that, the BRS would consider legal options, including approaching the courts through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), to seek accountability on behalf of Telangana’s taxpayers,” he warned.
