The State Government would ensure completion of the Metro Rail Project works in the Old City as planned once the issue of sensitive religious structures would get resolved.
The assurance was given in the Assembly on Tuesday by IT & Municipal Administration Minister K. T. Rama Rao during question hour and urged the BJP not to politicize the issue as the government was committed in completing the metro rail project in the old city to fulfill the aspirations of the residents.
The BJP members staged a walkout from the House after the party’s floor leader G. Kishan Reddy charged the government with delaying the project in the old city in the name of religious structures coming in the way. Though not directly, the BJP members were trying to point an accusing finger at the MIM for stalling the works in the name of religious structures getting affected by the project.
KTR assured the MIM as well as BJP members that the State government would ensure that there would be metro connectivity to Shamshabad Airport from all the three corridors – Nagole, Hightec City and Falaknuma. Allaying the fears of the MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi that L&T was reportedly not willing to take up the project from the JBS to Falaknuma, KTR said it was only hearsay and gossip as there was no such information from the L&T of taking up the works.
The Minister further said in the event of the company not willing to take up the works, the State Government would take up and complete the project in time. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (DMRCL), which has been entrusted with the work of preparing the project report for Phase II of the Metro Rail Project, has submitted its preliminary report and was currently carrying out field surveys for preparing a detailed project report for Phase II, he added.
KTR said the Phase-I project works in JBS-Falaknuma corridor were going on at a brisk pace between JBS and MGBS, which was expected to be completed by August this year. While 25 sensitive structures, which are mostly religious buildings, would have been affected by the Metro Rail alignment between MGBS and Falaknuma, this number has been brought down to four through engineering solutions. Enough care would be taken during construction to ensure that no damage was done to these four structures as the metro viaduct would be taken over these structures to avoid any damage, he aded.
The Minister assured that all the legislators from the city would be involved and their suggestions would be sought when the Phase II of the Metro Rail Project would be taken up. (NSS)