A day after clarifying that Telangana’s new Congress government has no intentions to scrap the Hyderabad Pharma City and Airport Metro projects, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed the Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL) to plan Metro connectivity to Shamshabad Airport from MGBS via the Old City and also from LB Nagar. He said this will bridge the remaining gap of 5 km from Nagole to LB Nagar Metro stations, adding that the former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government’s Airport Metro plan from Raidurg to Shamshabad Airport (31 km; Rs 6,250 crore) will be kept on hold as already a very wide Outer Ring Road (ORR) is available. He was reviewing Phase-II of the Hyderabad Metro Rail at a meeting on Tuesday, January 2.
After a detailed presentation by HMRL MD NVS Reddy, Revanth directed that the expansion proposals should cater to major parts of the city and serve a maximum number of commuters. He asked the MD to refine Phase-II proposals in coordination with the Commissioner, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), and quickly get the traffic studies and detailed project reports (DPRs) done for the revised Airport Metro alignment. He also wanted him to examine the feasibility of laying a part of the Metro in Laxmiguda-Jalpally-Mamidipally stretch ‘At Grade’ (road level) in the new alignment, since a 40 feet wide central median without any obstructions is available in this stretch. This can reduce the cost of Metro Rail construction.
Revanth also asked the officials to identify the large extents of government land available along this stretch to undertake Transit Oriented Development, which can contribute partly to the funding of the Airport Metro project as well as encourage development of the Old City and its surroundings. He said the new alignment will result in shorter distance and cost saving, apart from catering to several parts of the city.
The CM has also told the HMRL MD to prepare extensions of the existing Metro corridors to nearby destinations to facilitate growth of the city in all directions. The proposals include Miyapur - Chandanagar - BHEL - Patancheruvu (14 km), MGBS - Falaknuma - Chandrayanagutta - Mailardevpalli - P7 Road - Airport (23 km), Nagole - LB Nagar - Owaisi Hospital - Chandrayanagutta - Mailardevepalli - Aramgarh - New High Court site at Rajendranagar (19 km), extension of Corridor-III from Raidurg station to Financial District (Wipro lake Jn/American consulate) via Biodiversity Jn, IIIT Jn and ISB road (12 km), and LB Nagar - Vansathalipuram - Hayatnagar (8 km).
On the proposal of the HMRL to widen the road from Darulshifa Junction to Shalibanda Junction in the Old City Metro Rail stretch, the CM said the feasibility of widening the road from Darulshifa Junction up to Falaknuma Junction to 100 feet shall be examined, in consultation with the public representatives of the Old City. He said this will open up the Old City for rapid development on a par with the other parts of the city.
Revanth also added that during road widening and Metro Rail planning, none of the identified 103 religious, heritage and other sensitive structures in Old City shall be adversely impacted. If required, he will personally inspect and also involve the public representatives of the Old City in this endeavour.
On January 1, Revanth Reddy had also announced plans to create ten pharma villages in and around Hyderabad and claimed that they could not be situated close to the airport. He suggested creating ten pharma villages in various locations, each with a village or cluster that would occupy 2,000–3,000 acres.
With IANS inputs