Centre’s discrimination continues: Telangana’s Metro projects continue to be sidelined
Despite repeated submissions and appeals since 2021, the Union government has not approved Metro projects in Hyderabad and Warangal. While smaller cities across India get sanctioned, Telangana’s proposals remain sidelined, triggering accusations of discrimination and neglect.
Hyderabad: Hyderabad’s wait for its Metro expansion continues while cities far smaller in size are witnessing new Metro projects being sanctioned and executed.
The BJP-led Union government’s step-motherly treatment towards Telangana, particularly Hyderabad and Warangal, in approving Metro rail projects has hampered infrastructure development and affected public transport usage in the State.
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The Telangana government had submitted the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for both Hyderabad Metro Phase II and the Warangal Neo Metro project to the Centre in 2021. Since then, the State has made repeated appeals seeking approval, but the proposals have remained pending.
Under Phase II of the Metro, the previous BRS government proposed a 26-km corridor from BHEL to Lakdikapul and a 5-km extension from LB Nagar to Nagole. It also proposed a Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) for the Kokapet area and the Warangal Neo Metro. The DPRs for these were prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation, the same agencies that prepared DPRs for other cities.
Apart from multiple written representations, former Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao had met then Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Hardeep Singh Puri, urging them to expedite approvals.
Instead of responding to Telangana’s appeals, the Centre rejected Hyderabad’s Phase II proposal in 2023, citing reasons like lower Peak Hour Peak Direction Traffic (PHPDT) and insufficient projected ridership.
To add insult to injury, the Centre sanctioned Metro projects for several cities including Noida, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Meerut, Agra and Kanpur, and approved Metro expansions in Bengaluru and Mysuru.
Rama Rao had strongly objected to the discrimination, questioning how smaller cities like Kanpur and Agra qualified for Metro funding while Hyderabad’s high-density traffic corridors were ignored. “If Hyderabad doesn’t qualify, how do Kanpur, Agra and Meerut qualify?” he had asked Hardeep Singh Puri.
After the Congress government came to power, it revised the Phase II route and submitted a fresh DPR, proposing a 76-km stretch at an estimated cost of Rs.24,269 crore.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who was critical of the previous BRS government’s stance against the BJP-led Centre, had gone to the extent of calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi his ‘Bade Bhai’ and was all for cordial relations, but has not yet been able to translate his ‘cordial’ and ‘bhai-bhai’ relations with Modi into anything good for Telangana.
He has held more than one discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Urban Development Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, but the Centre has remained unmoved. This, despite the revised DPR being formally submitted by the State.
In stark contrast, the Centre last month cleared the Pune Metro Phase II project worth over Rs.3,600 crore, while continuing to overlook Hyderabad’s demands.
This sustained neglect has triggered criticism of BJP MPs from Telangana, including two Union Ministers and six others in the NDA government, for failing to secure even a single Metro approval for the State. Meanwhile, Gujarat has secured big-ticket infrastructure projects like the bullet train, raising further questions about the Centre’s priorities.
