Telangana cabinet approves ₹60,000 cr for extension of Hyderabad metro

HYDERABAD, Telangana: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao headed Telangana Cabinet has decided to expand the metro rail network in Hyderabad and approved a budget of ₹60,000 crore for the extension project. The fund has been allocated for the next three-four year period. It was also announced that compensation would be provided to the families of the 40 individuals who lost their lives in the recent rains.

Additionally, the state government has also decided to accord the status of government staff to over 43,000 employees of the state run Road Transport Corporation (RTC).

Regarding the extension of the metro rail in Hyderabad, KT Rama Rao, Minister for Municipal Administration, said that the move will strengthen the public transport system in the city. Additionally, he stated that the Chief Minister has already laid the foundation for the metro rail project connecting Raidurgam to the Airport. He added, “Altogether, the cabinet approved expansion of metro rail with ₹60,000 cr in addition to the 101 km taken up earlier. The CM directed our municipal department to complete this project in the coming three-four years.”

Chief Minister has also asked the metro rail authorities to submit a detailed proposal soon. Similarly, Minister Rao also mentioned that he hopes that the central government will also help in the implantation process of this project as it is helping other states. If the central government doesn’t provide support, the state government will take charge of the project.

Speaking over the issue of compensation to the families of 40 people who lost their lives during the recent spell of rains Rao said that they would be transferring the money after collecting their details. The municipal administration minister said that the government has also asked for the damages caused by the rains to the agricultural fields.

The cabinet meeting also entailed the decision to pass the bills sent by the Governor of Telangana Tamilisai Soundararajan by the state assembly. The cabinet will also appoint a sub-committee to look into the modalities of formally recognising RTC employees as government employees.

A new ‘orphan policy’ is also on the card of the state government. The new policy entails that orphan children should be considered “children of the state” and it would be the responsibility of the state government to take care of them.