Telangana Congress lashes out at KCR for new Secretariat being 'waste of money'

“If required, we will approach the High Court and Supreme Court," Congress leader Shashidhar Reddy said.
Telangana Congress lashes out at KCR for new Secretariat being 'waste of money'
Telangana Congress lashes out at KCR for new Secretariat being 'waste of money'
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Amid speculation that the Telangana government may have got the nod to use Defence land in Hyderabad's Gymkhana Ground and Bison Polo Ground for constructing a new Secretariat, the Congress party lashed out against the TRS.

Senior Congress leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy and TPCC spokesperson, M Krishank, held a joint press conference on Thursday, where they criticised Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's plan, and dubbed it a massive waste of public money.

“If required, we will approach the High Court and Supreme Court, but will not allow such wasteful expenditure of public money. Present Secretariat complex was sufficient to meet the needs of undivided AP. With about 60% of the staff moving out after bifurcation, there is enough room to relocate many government offices scattered in various parts of the city," Reddy was quoted as saying.

"The Chief Minister has visited New Delhi many times to discuss getting defence land for the flyover and Secretariat. But he never used these visits to discuss the issue of defence authorities closing 15 roads for the general public in Secunderabad Cantonment area," he added.

The criticism came after Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's visit to New Delhi, to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jaitley on Wednesday.

Speaking to media persons after his 20-minute meeting with Modi, KCR said that the Centre had agreed to transfer defence lands to the state, for construction of flyovers, as part of its Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP). 

The SRDP is part of the state's plan to construct multi-layer flyovers over 20 junctions in the city to decongest traffic in Hyderabad.

When quizzed by reporters about the transfer of the land for the proposed Secretariat complex, KCR said that he mainly focused on land for the SRDP.

In May this year, hundreds of Secunderabad citizens took to Parade Ground in the city, and protested for days together.

Following this, KCR called for a press meet, and assured citizens that, "Neither the TRS government nor KCR will touch Parade Ground. It will continue to remain as an open space for walkers, sportsmen, children etc.”

The Chief Minister went on to add that he had asked for land in Gymkhana Ground and Bison Polo Ground, for constructing a Secretariat, Legislature and a cultural centre on the premises. 

The two grounds are currently under the control of the Local Military Authority (LMA) under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

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