The lack of allocation in the Telangana budget this year for completion of Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) phase 2 project (a sub-urban rail system) has miffed resident associations in Hyderabad. The rail project which is nearing completion has been facing delays over funds not released by the state. This year, neither the MMTS phase 2, not the Hyderabad metro expansion made it to the state budget.
The United Federation Of Resident Welfare Associations (UFRWA) comprising of over 4000 residential associations across the city say, they had attempted to get funding for the project through their corporators and legislators.
The MMTS phase 2 is an 84 km suburban railway project connecting Moulaali, Sanathnagar, Tellapur, Ramachandrapuram, Medchal, Bolarum, Secendrabad and Faluknuma. The project is a joint one by the Ministry for Railways and the Telangana government on the basis of cost-sharing (one third by the South Central Railways and two thirds by the state government).
The second phase of the project started in 2014 with a projected cost of Rs 817 crore. The state, however, has released just Rs 129 crore as of 2019, a total of Rs 439.07 crore remains due from the state government for the project.
"Many of the tenders have been cancelled by the South Central Railway (SCR) over shortage of funds,” says Tirumala Srinivasa Buddhiraju, general secretary of the UFRWA. With respect to Ghatkesar-Ragir (Yadadri) extension of phase 2 MMTS to an extent of 33 km, SCR estimated a cost of Rs 412 crore but the tenders for this project appear to have been dropped. “The stations between Moulaali and Sanathnagar are ready and only the rakes need to be laid but there is no fund to finish the existing project. This stretch when finished will cut down travel time for techies travelling to Hitech city,” he adds.
The rail lines, when opened to the public, is expected to cut down two-hour-long commute by road to the Hitech city from the Eastern and Noth Eastern parts of the city to just 45 minutes, “But the state doesn’t seem to focus on the importance of this route,” says Buddhiraju.
The rakes to complete this stretch of the project cost Rs 132.76 crore, the state’s share was Rs 88 crore.
The budget apart from making no allocation for the MMTS phase 2 was also silent about funding for phase 2 of the metro service connecting Shamshabad to the Hyderabad metro.
All the finance Minister Harish Rao had to say on the subject of rail connectivity in the city was with reference to the commencement of full operations at the Hyderabad metro.
Despite repeated attempts, SCR was unresponsive for a comment.