HYDERABAD: As the Central government will present the Union Budget 2023 on February 1, one of the biggest concerns for Telangana is if the Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MAUD) gets the budgetary allocations for various development projects as sought by the State.
MAUD Minister K T Rama Rao has already placed requests related to various development projects, hoping that the Centre extends its support to the State in the Union Budget 2023.
He urged the Central government to allocate sufficient funds in the forthcoming Union Budget for various urban sector initiatives in Telangana. Many projects in the State have either been halted or are proceeding at a slow pace due to a lack of sufficient funds.
The minister has sought that the Central government accords in-principle approval for the Hyderabad Metro Rail phase-II project from BHEL to Lakdi Ka Pul, which costs an estimated Rs 8,453 crore. The project is supposed to be jointly funded by the Central and State governments.
In a letter addressed to the Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, KTR has requested the inclusion of the Metro project in the Union Budget 2023-24. The proposed Metro line will have 23 stations across the 26-km stretch.
To avoid delays in processing, DPRs prepared by DMRC and other related documents were already sent to the Centre in October 2022. Also, as part of viability gap funding (VGF), Rs 254 crore for the Hyderabad Metro Rail project has been pending for the last five years.
The State has also urged the Centre to release Rs 450 crore towards 15% of its equity for Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). The preliminary estimate for taking up MRTS in the Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration area with a length of 20 km is Rs 3,050 crore.
The State has also requested the Centre to provide Rs 800 crore for link roads to bear one-third of the cost of the project. The total cost of the project to lay link roads in 104 corridors is Rs 2,400 crore.Besides that, the State has also sought at least 10% of the total cost of phase II of the Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP), which costs Rs 34,500 crore.
For the Strategic Nala Development Plan (SNDP), taken up to prevent inundation during excessive rains in vulnerable localities of Hyderabad city, the State has sought Rs 240 crore.