HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has asked Union Minister G Kishan Reddy to arrange a meeting with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during his visit to New Delhi on June 22 and 23 to discuss financing by the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) for the takeover of Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-I and the construction of Metro Rail Phase-II.
In a letter to Kishan on Saturday, Revanth said: “I shall be in New Delhi on Monday (June 22) and Tuesday (June 23) and would request you to kindly arrange a meeting during this period so that both of us may jointly meet the Railway Minister and discuss the issues concerned.”
Revanth further said that, given the importance of the Hyderabad Metro Rail as a critical urban infrastructure project for Hyderabad and Telangana, an early resolution of the pending issues was essential. He stated: “The proposed meeting would provide an opportunity to place all relevant facts on record. I shall also bring along copies of the relevant agreements and supporting documents to facilitate the discussion.”
It may be recalled that the IRFC sanctioned `13,600 crore in May for the takeover of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project from L&T. However, the funds have not yet been released. The chief minister had earlier alleged that Kishan was responsible for delaying the release of the loan. Kishan, however, insisted that he had no role in the matter.
In this context, Revanth had written to Kishan on June 16 seeking his cooperation in securing the release of the loan amount and obtaining approvals for the Metro Phase-II expansion. This is the second letter written by Revanth to Kishan on issues related to the Metro project.