Revanth Reddy lobbies with Amit Shah, Union Ministers for Metro Rail expansion, funds for irrigation projects

NEW DELHI: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has requested Union Ministers Amit Shah, Hardeep Singh Puri and Gajendra Singh Shekawat on Thursday to discuss several aspects of the State like pending approvals of promises made in Andhra Pradesh Bifurcation Act and grant of funds for projects like Hyderabad Metro Phase-II and the Musi Riverfront project.

In a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah, Revanth appealed for the allocation of additional IPS officers to Telangana State. He pointed out that only 76 IPS officers were allotted to Telangana during its bifurcation. The Chief Minister requested Shah to allocate 29 additional IPS posts to the State in view of the creation of new districts and supervision of various departments. Amit Shah responded positively to the Chief Minister's request. He also promised to allocate additional officers to Telangana from the new IPS batch which will pass out in 2024.

Revanth also requested the Union Minister to solve the long pending division of assets under the ninth schedule of the AP Reorganisation Act, settle the disputes on pending departments between the two States and complete the bifurcation of the State Bhavan in New Delhi in a smooth manner.

The Chief Minister also requested Shah to allocate Rs 88 crore for strengthening the Anti-Narcotics Bureau in Telangana and Rs 90 crore to consolidate Telangana Cyber Security Bureau. The Chief Minister requested Amit Shah to grant a total of Rs 408 crore from Andhra Pradesh for using the buildings like Raj Bhavan, High Court Building, Lokayukta and State Human Rights Commission even after the bifurcation of the State and pay to Telangana.

Proposals for Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-II

In a meeting with Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Revanth Reddy appealed for approval of the revised proposals for the second phase of Hyderabad Metro Rail. Revanth said that the second phase (BHEL-Lakdikapul, Nagole-LB Nagar which is 260-km long and worth Rs 9,100 crore and Airport Metro Corridor from Rayadurg-Shamshabad airport – 32 km for Rs 6,250 crore) needed to be realigned. According to the revised proposals, the Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to consider the matter of taking up this project jointly by the Central and State Governments. He also told the Union Minister that the State Government decided to develop the Musi Riverfront in Hyderabad by establishing amusement parks, waterfalls, children's water sports, business center and shopping complexes.

Revanth also said that the State Government decided to build Indiramma houses for the poor and requested Puri to give permission to provide them under the Prime Minister's Awas Yojana. He also appealed to the Minister to release the balance funds to be given along with sanctioning new houses to Telangana.

Request for national project status to Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project

Revanth then met Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekawat to accord national project status to the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Project. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy who explained the importance of the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project to the Union Minister. Revanth said that 12.30 lakh acres in the districts of Nagarkurnool, Mahabubnagar, Vikarabad, Narayanapet, Rangareddy and Nalgonda, which were suffering from drought and fluoride, would get irrigation facility from the project. He added that drinking water would also be supplied to 1,226 villages in six districts apart from Hyderabad.

Revanth said that permissions were already given to the project and was waiting for the clearance of hydrology, irrigation, planning, estimated cost, BC ratio and inter-State issues from the Central Water Commission for the project. Addressing media after the meeting, Uttam said that Shekawar had responded positively to the allocation of additional funds for the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project and that he assured to allocate 60 per cent funds for the project under another scheme.

Apart from these issues, Uttam said that TSPSC completely failed to conduct exams during the BRS regime and that Revanth Reddy had decided to reform the entire public service commission. Uttam said that the Chief Minister and himself would meet the UPSC Chairman on Friday and seek the support to strengthen the TSPSC.