Hyderabad, June 16 (IANS) Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy on Tuesday accused Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy of running a false propaganda against him over the Hyderabad Metro Rail project.

Denying the Chief Minister’s allegation that he is stalling Centre’s approval for the second phase of Hyderabad Metro and also that he has also blocked the funds for the state government to complete the takeover of the first phase from L&T, Kishan Reddy claimed that, like the previous government of BRS, the present Congress government is not committed to the project.

The Central minister told a press conference in New Delhi that the Detailed Project Report (DPR), along with the technical and financial feasibility report for the second phase have not yet been completed.

Kishan Reddy, who is a Lok Sabha member from Secunderabad, claimed that the Central government will extend cooperation for the Hyderabad Metro, just like Metro projects in other parts of the country. He stated that if the state government cooperates on technical and financial issues, the project can be executed.

The Union Minister claimed that the BJP has no culture of stalling projects. “The Congress party may have such a culture,” he remarked.

Claiming that the Centre is committed to the development of Telangana, he said that for the first phase of Hyderabad Metro, it had released Rs 1,250 crore.

Stating that it is inappropriate on part of the Chief Minister to speak recklessly and impulsively, Kishan Reddy said he, the Prime Minister or the Centre need no certificate from Revanth Reddy or the Congress party.

“We have been working for Telangana’s development for 12 years. We will fulfil the promises made. We need no lessons from anybody on the development of Telangana and Hyderabad,” he said.

The Central minister dismissed Revanth Reddy’s allegation that he is blocking the release of Rs 13,600 crore from Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) for term loan refinancing of the first phase of Hyderabad Metro.

Kishan Reddy said that the Central government, specifically the Urban Development Ministry, had suggested that all the money generated through ticket sales and advertisements should be used primarily for Metro operations and maintenance, and a decision should be made subsequently to repay the loan using the remaining revenue. However, the Telangana government decided to use all the money generated through ticket sales and advertisements to first repay the loans. This creates a problem in operational maintenance. Even for operational maintenance, you have to take out a loan every month. Therefore, the Telangana government should reassess this issue and make changes to the financial enclosure, he said.

On writing a letter to Revanth Reddy regarding alleged fraud in Singareni Collieries, he stated that this is not a coal scam.

“An allegation has been made. The employees’ union has written to me, and some political parties in Telangana have also submitted representations. The allegation is that some coal is not being properly accounted for. Coal production is being reported, but the corresponding output is not visible on the ground. I have asked the Chief Minister to provide clarity in this regard,” he said.

–IANS

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