Hyderabad, June 15 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday demanded that the Centre release, without further delay, a sum of Rs 13,600 crore towards term loan refinancing for the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase I, acquired by the state government from Larsen & Toubro Limited.

Revanth Reddy also demanded that the Centre clarify whether it will be part of Phase II of the Hyderabad Metro or not.

Addressing a press conference, he said if the Centre was not ready to be part of Phase II, it should give a No Objection Certificate (NOC) so that the state government can go ahead with the expansion on its own.

He claimed that a Japanese agency had already released the funds to IRFC, and the amount was due to be transferred to the Telangana government on June 1.

He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Kishan Reddy, and MP Etala Rajender to intervene and ensure that Telangana get its rightful share of the funds.

On May 25, the state government signed an agreement with the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) for a term loan refinancing facility.

The state government had, in April, formally acquired Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase I from Larsen & Toubro Limited for Rs 1,461 crore.

As per the agreement, the debt of LTMRHL, amounting to Rs 13,538.53 crore, as on April 30, which was guaranteed by L&T, has to be refinanced with a guarantee issued by the Telangana government.

The Chief Minister said a loan of Rs 13,600 crore was secured from a Japanese entity at an interest rate of 4 per cent. This loan needs to be transferred from IRFC to the state government.

A Japanese agency has already released funds to the IRFC, but the IRFC is not transferring them to the state government, he said.

“We even submitted a letter securing the Reserve Bank’s approval, yet the loan transfer was blocked,” he said and blamed Union Minister for Mines and Coal G. Kishan Reddy for stalling the release of funds.

He claimed that Kishan Reddy met Union Urban Development Minister Manohar Lal on May 20 and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on May 21, urging them not to release the funds as this would harm the BJP’s interests in Telangana.

“That is precisely why we are questioning Kishan Reddy. Will you take the responsibility of releasing Rs 13,600 crore today to Telangana or not?” he asked.

He reminded Kishan Reddy that he is the MP for Secunderabad and the Metro expansion is supposed to take place in the constituency represented by him and the constituencies of three other BJP MPs.

He said if the Centre has any problem in having a 50 per cent partnership in Phase II, it should issue the NOC.

“Just issue the NOC. We will bear the entire cost and carry out the Metro expansion ourselves,” he said.

Revanth Reddy pointed out that the Centre sanctioned Metro projects for Ahmedabad, Uttar Pradesh, and Visakhapatnam but denied approval to Telangana.

“You can see for yourselves the extent of the discrimination. I am not speaking out of political motives,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that the state government’s goal is to take over Phase I of the Metro and complete Phase II.

He recalled that when his government approached the Centre for approval for the expansion of Hyderabad Metro, the Centre stipulated that Phase II must be constructed by L&T, the same company that built Phase I.

However, L&T did not agree due to the losses they have been incurring in operating Phase I. The company stated that despite creating assets worth Rs 30,000 crore, they are suffering losses of Rs 400 crore every year.

The Centre then stated that the only solution is that the state government take over the Metro from L&T.

He said the state government purchased the L&T Metro assets, valued at Rs 30,000 crore, for just Rs 15,000 crore.

“L&T Metro had secured a loan of Rs 13,600 crore from banks at an interest rate of 8.25 per cent. We requested the Central government to transfer that loan to the state government so that the state government could secure loans at lower interest rates through IRFC. We convinced IRFC to provide the loan,” he said.

–IANS

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