Commuters root for wrapping up of MMTS-II last phase work at fast pace

Hyderabad: The allocation of Rs 50 crore for the MMTS Phase-II project in the recent Telangana Budget allocation has raised hopes among the daily passengers that the remaining long pending works of MMTS Phase-II will proceed quickly. Due to the delay in releasing funds from the state government, the works are processing at a snail’s pace. Passengers also urged the South Central Railways to complete the final phase of work between Moula Ali - Malkajgiri - Sitaphalmandi, so that it can facilitate direct train operation towards Kacheguda.

Daily passengers and members of the Suburban Train Travelers Association pointed out that with the allocation of funds in the recent budget, they have high hopes that the complete MMTS Phase-II project can see the ray of light. As the project is in its final phase, only doubling & electrification of Moula Ali – Malkajgiri – Sitafalmandi is left but it has been moving very slowly for past two years, they said.

“The rail commuters are eagerly waiting for the completion of the Phase-II services, especially for the northern and eastern parts of the city. Deprived of proper connectivity and compared to other public transport, suburban train services are cheaper. It will be better if the works get completed, as the project in its final phase, as once the chord line gets laid between Lallaguda to Sitaphalmandi, then the thoroughfare till Kacheguda Railway Station will become easy,” said Noor Ahmed, president of LT (long train) & MMTS, Suburban Train Travelers Association.

“MMTS Phase-II works are going on at a snail’s pace from 2014 due to delay of releasing funds by the state government. Once the MMTS Phase-II services get launched, many people will benefit and also traffic congestion in the city will be reduced,” said M Krishna, a daily rail passenger.

As per the South Central Railway, it is a joint project of the Ministry of Railways and Telangana government on the basis of cost-sharing (one-third by the South Central Railways and two-thirds by the state government). The original sanctioned cost which was Rs 816.55 crore has now escalated to Rs 1,150 crore due to the delay in project execution for want of funds. Taking this into account, currently, the state government has to deposit Rs 760 crore towards its share, out of which only Rs 379 crore has been deposited till date. So far, Railways has invested around Rs 580 crore, which is double its share, whereas the state government has released an amount of Rs 379 crore as against Rs 760 crore. Due to the delay in contribution towards the state government share, the project works are running at a slow pace.

On the condition anonymity, a senior officer of SCR said, “Despite the delay in funds, Malkajgiri – Bolarum double line electrification for 14 km, Tellapur – Ramchandrapuram for six km, Medchal-Bolarum doubling for 14 kms, Moula Ali – Ghatkesar quadrupling for 12.2 km, Falaknuma-Umdanagar doubling for 13.5 km and also Sanathnagar – Moula Ali for 22 km has been completed.

Currently, works are underway for Moula Ali – Malkajgiri – Sitafalmandi doubling with electrification. Also as part of the final phase of work between Moula Ali - Malkajgiri - Sitaphalmandi, a chord line is being laid between Lallaguda to Sitaphalmandi for around 4 km (involving the construction of RUB near Alugaddabavi near Secunderabad ) which facilitates direct train operation towards Kacheguda.”