Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday urged Telangana government to fulfil its assurance to fund 2/3rd cost of MMTS Phase II and release the pending ₹631 crore for the same for early commissioning of the project.
“The Centre has done its share but the TS government is yet to come forward, invest in people and treat it as a priority as it is going to serve the poor and the youth connecting the suburbs,” he told a press conference at the BJP state office, flanked by party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and others
“We need to expand MMTS further. We can always find ways to work it out. Things will materialise if we all make efforts. We are committed to the railway projects in Telangana,” he asserted. The Minister pointed out that it was because the railways has given the large tender ‘Medha Servo Drives’ is setting up a factory in the city outskirts for making modern rakes.
Tenders for setting up a periodic wagon overhauling facility in Kazipet have been finalised as the government has handed over land only recently, he said and thanked it for the same. Mr. Vaishnaw claimed that while the UPA Government had allotted ₹886 crore a year for railway projects Telangana in undivided Andhra Pradesh between 2009-14, the Modi Government had hiked it to more than ₹2,000 crore over the years.
“This year a record ₹3,048 crore has been given for TS,” he said. About 24 km a year of doubling, tripling and electrification has been happening under this regime with plans to double the speed, whereas it was ‘Zero’ during the UPA government”, he added.
