Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy vowed to complete the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) connectivity to the Old City within the next four years.
He said the State government had proposed to float a joint venture company in association with the Centre to fund the HMR Phase-II expansion for a stretch of 78 km, to benefit a larger section of the city population.
Participating in the discussion on the State budget in the Assembly on Saturday, Revanth Reddy stated that the proposals for the HMR expansion have been already submitted to the union government.
Under the joint venture, the State government proposed to bear 35 per cent of expenditure and urged the Centre to provide 15 per cent of funds. Of the remaining, 45 per cent would be pooled through loan and another five per cent would be
contributed through PPP (public-private partnership) model.
“Soon after coming to power, we have changed the Phase-II expansion designs and routes proposed by the previous BRS government. The foundation stone has been laid at Chandrayangutta and tenders have been invited for a 33 km stretch to provide Airport connectivity. Even if the Centre does not support, we will complete the expansion before next Assembly elections,” he said, adding that land acquisition for the project was underway.
The Chief Minister also said he referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Bade Bhai only in the context of Centre-State relations and not for any political favours.
“I want to maintain cordial relationship with the Prime Minister in the best interests of the State, but for no other reason,” he said.