HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said he, along with ministers D Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar, would meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Begumpet airport on Sunday to remind him of the state government’s request for Central funds for the Musi rejuvenation project, Regional Ring Road (RRR) construction, and Metro expansion.
Speaking after inaugurating the PJR flyover at Kondapur, the chief minister said: “I am asking Union Minister and state BJP president G Kishan Reddy, what has Prime Minister Narendra Modi given to Telangana or Hyderabad? The people of Telangana have given eight MPs to the BJP. Show me a single project that Modi has given.”
He pointed out that the Centre sanctioned Metro projects to Bengaluru and Chennai, the bullet train and Sabarmati Riverfront Development projects to Gujarat, and river rejuvenation and cleaning projects to Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Revanth questioned why funds had not been sanctioned for the Musi Riverfront Development Project, RRR construction or Metro expansion. “Why this discrimination?” he asked.
The chief minister said he had visited Delhi 30 to 35 times to meet the prime minister, home minister and other ministers to represent these issues. “We will go to Begumpet airport to meet Amit Shah and ask for funds and projects for the state,” he said.
Refers to Kancha Gachibowli
Indirectly referring to Kancha Gachibowli lands, the chief minister said: “In 2003, the then government allotted these lands to private parties. We fought the case in the Supreme Court and won in 2024. The government will work to set up IT companies and create employment on these lands through legal efforts.”
The chief minister said the government was developing Bharat Future City on 30,000 acres, of which 15,000 acres would be developed as forest area.
Revanth stated that the government was planning Hyderabad’s development to compete with New York, Tokyo, Singapore and cities in Japan, rather than Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai or Mumbai. “The state government would address all obstacles and make Hyderabad a leading city as part of the Telangana Rising Vision – 2047. The vision document would be released before December 9,” he said. Revanth alleged that certain individuals were attempting to stall Hyderabad’s development by filing cases in court.
The chief minister explained that Telangana would be divided into three regions — Core Urban Region (within the Outer Ring Road), Semi-Urban Region (between the ORR and rrr), and Rural Telangana (outside the RRR ). He said plans were being prepared for the next 100 years to develop these regions. He announced that 3,000 diesel buses would be replaced with electric buses within a year, and the diesel fleet would operate outside the ORR .
Revanth noted that Khairatabad was split into seven Assembly segments in 2009, and that Serilingampally would likely be divided into at least four segments after delimitation in 2029.
Paying tribute to former MLA P Janardhan Reddy, he said: “PJR’s home served as Janata Garage. He fought for the people of Hyderabad. As a public representative, PJR played a key role in Hyderabad’s development.” He instructed the Hyderabad Mayor and GHMC Commissioner to identify a site for installing a PJR statue in Financial District.
Ministers D Sridhar Babu, Ponnam Prabhakar, MLA Arikepudi Gandhi, Hyderabad Mayor Gadwala Vijaya Laxmi and others attended the event.
Nag a hero for returning land: CM
Describing actor Akkineni Nagarjuna as a ‘hero’, the chief minister recalled that the actor handed over two acres of land falling within the full tank level (FTL). N-Convention, owned by Nagarjuna, was demolished by HYDRAA last year after it was found to have encroached land belonging to a lake. The chief minister said: “Nalas and water bodies were encroached in Hyderabad. HYDRAA is removing structures built on water bodies and lakes. After it was found that the land belonged to the lake, Nagarjuna voluntarily came forward and handed over two acres back to the government by meeting me personally.”