TPCC fumes over Metro ticket cost

Blames the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government for the cost escalation and delay of the project

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday alleged that the ticket prices announced by the HMRL authorities were in violation of the tariff agreement as there was an increase by 300 per cent in upper slab.

Further, he said slabs had been increased from 6 to 10 and said the poor and the middle class people, small traders and daily wage earners could not afford the cost. “L & T is justifying the hike in tariff due to delay in completion of project. Is Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao not responsible for the delay? It appears that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government has mortgaged the Metro Rail to L & T and forgot that at the end of the day, it is a public property," he said.

He said the TRS had been wrongly trying to take the credit of the launch of the Metro Rail and it caused cost escalation by Rs 4,000 crores and much delay with its litigations.

Making PowerPoint Presentation on Hyderabad Metro Rail organised by the Congress at Indira Bhavan on the party headquarters Gandhi Bhavan premises, Uttam Kumar Reddy said neither the TRS government in Telangana nor the BJP government at Centre made any contribution to the project. In fact, he said Chandrashekar Rao acted as the ‘trouble maker’ in the execution of the project. Stating that HMRL was the dream project of the Congress government, he dubbed the present launch as ‘Kaam Hamara, Naam Tumhara’ or ‘hard work for caterpillar, publicity for butterfly’.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said the then Chief Minister Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy secured the approval of the Metro Rail from the Centre in 2007, inaugurated the Metro Rail Bhavan, signed the Concession Agreement on September 4, 2010, and works were launched by the then Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on December 25, 2012.

The trial run of the Metro Rail was originally scheduled to be held by the end of 2014. However, the TRS government deliberately delayed the project to prevent the Congress from taking credit.

The TPCC chief said Chandrashekar Rao’s political greed was the only reason for the delay and cost overrun in the Metro Rail Project. “The project cost got escalated by over Rs 4,000 crore and two-and-a-half years were lost. Is it not criminal waste of public money and is Chandrashekar Rao not responsible for this?’ he asked while accusing the Chief Minister of committing a ‘social sin’ by delaying the project.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said people were already aware that the HMR was Congress achievement. However, in view of wrong publicity being done by the TRS government, he directed the party workers to enlighten the people about it.

“Each and every passenger of Metro Rail should know that the facility became a reality due to the Congress. However, the passengers can hold Chandrashekar Rao responsible for the costly ticket,” he said.

Public Accounts Committee chairman J. Geetha Reddy, Leader of Opposition in Council Mohd Shabbir Ali, former Union Ministers S Jaipal Reddy and Balram Naik, ex-PCC Presidents V. Hanumantha Rao and Ponnala Lakshmaiah, ex-minister Marri Sashidhar Reddy, MLC Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, ex-MLA Sudhir Reddy, Bhikshapati Yadav, Kuna Srisailam Goud, RR DCC president Kayam Mallaesh, ex-Mayor Banda Karthika Reddy, and several senior leaders were present on the occasion.