Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy thoroughly reviewed Phase-II Hyderabad Metro Rail proposals today (Tuesday).
After a detailed presentation by HMRL MD NVS Reddy, the Chief Minister directed him that the expansion proposals shall cater to major parts of the city and shall serve the maximum number of commuters. He asked the MD to refine Phase-II proposals in coordination with the Commissioner, HMDA.
On the proposal of HMRL to widen the road from Darulshifa Jn to Shalibanda Jn in the Old City Metro Rail stretch, the Chief Minister desired that the feasibility of widening the road from Darulshifa Jn up to Falaknuma Jn to 100 ft shall be examined, in consultation with the public representatives of the Old City. He believes that this will open up the Old City for rapid development on par with the other parts of the city. However, he desired that during road widening and Metro Rail planning, none of the identified 103 religious, heritage and other sensitive structures in Old City would be adversely impacted. If required, he will personally inspect and also involve the public representatives of the Old City in this endeavour.
The CM directed that the Airport Metro plan of the earlier government from Raidurg to Shamshabad Airport (31 km; Rs.6,250 cr) shall be kept on hold as already a very wide ORR is available. Instead, Airport Metro connectivity shall be planned from MGBS via Old City; and from LB Nagar, duly bridging the remaining gap of 5 km from Nagole to LB Nagar Metro stations.
Instructing MD, HMRL to quickly get the traffic studies and DPRs done for the revised Airport Metro alignment via Old City and from LB Nagar, Revanth Reddy asked 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 ft wide central median without any obstructions is available in this stretch. This can reduce the cost of Metro Rail construction. He has also instructed Prl. Secretary, MA&UD & HMDA Commissioner M.Dana Kishore and CMO Prl. Secretary V. Seshadri to identify the large extents of Government land available along this stretch to undertake Transit Oriented Development, which can contribute to part funding of the Airport Metro project as well as encourage the development of the Old City and it’s surroundings. He opined that the new alignment will result in shorter distances and saving costs, apart from catering to several parts of the city.
Similarly, the CM has also directed MD, HMRL to prepare extensions of the existing Metro corridors to nearby destinations to facilitate the growth of the city in all directions on the following lines: Miyapur-Chandanagar-BHEL-Patancheruvu (14 km); MGBS-Falaknuma-Chandrayanagutta-Mailardevpalli-P7 Road-Airport (23 km); Nagole –LBNagar -Owaisi Hospital – Chandrayanagutta – Mailardevepalli-Aramgarh-New High Court site at Rajendranagar on NH (adjacent to Agricultural University main gate) (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).
CM Revanth Reddy asked HMRL MD and HMDA Commissioner to quickly prepare these plans in an integrated manner and draft a letter from him to the Minister for Ministry of Urban Development and Housing Hardeep Singh Puri in the next few days. He has also instructed Prl. Secretary, MA&UD and MD, HMRL to incorporate Metro Rail in the Musi riverfront East-West corridor from Taramatipet to Narsingi via Nagole and MGBS (40 km).
He has also instructed all the senior officers present in the meeting to prepare a comprehensive Master plan to cater to the fast-growing needs of Hyderabad city and to plan dispersed growth hubs all along the ORR. Further, Metro Rail connectivity from the Airport area to Kandukur on the Srisailam highway shall be planned, where a mega township can be created on the lands already acquired for the Pharma city. He has also desired that Metro Phase-III plans shall cover expansion from JBS Metro station to Shameerpet; and from Paradise Metro station to Kandlakoya/Medchal.Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari, IG Intelligence B. Shivadhar Reddy and CMO Secretary Shahnawaz Qasim were also present during the meeting. (INN)