The State government has decided to pool land to fund its share of project cost for the ongoing Multi-Modal Transit System (MMTS) Phase-II, which will cover 84.4 km and has identified about 350 acres of land near Cherlapally for the purpose.
The second phase of MMTS, which will connect the capital suburbs of Ramachandrapuram, Medchal, Ghatkesar and other areas to the rail network, has been estimated to cost about ₹817 crore, of which the then Andhra Pradesh government had agreed to meet two-thirds of the project estimate.
However, the government has released just ₹60 crore till date, whereas the South Central Railway (SCR) claims to have spent up to ₹470 crore. Already, the Tellapur-R.C. Puram 5.75-km stretch is undergoing test runs and another section - Moula Ali-Ghatkesar (12.2 km) - is almost complete, while work on other sections is in various stages.
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After top officials of SCR have indicated to the State government, more specifically to Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao, in a recent interaction, that the Railway Board has instructed the work be halted in case the remaining ₹485 crore or a part of is not released, there was a flurry of meetings.
Quick off the block
In these meetings, it was decided that the government should scour available vacant public land in the districts of Ranga Reddy and Medchal for MMTS Phase -11 . The Medchal Collector has been quick off the block, informing the government that a large tract of land is available at Cherlapally, which could be utilised for land-pooling.
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Incidentally, SCR has been seeking up to 100 acres of land from this site for the proposed new rail terminal as it was already in control of about 50 acres. Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi has acknowledged the Medchal Collector’s initiative and wanted more land to be identified for the purpose.
Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited has been made in charge of the land-pooling, having had the experience of doing it for the project at Uppal.