Telangana Cabinet Clears Revised Bullet Train Alignments and Transgender Quota in Civic Bodies
At present, municipalities and municipal corporations have five co-opted members.
Hyderabad: The Cabinet on Friday approved revised alignments for three proposed high-speed rail (HSR) corridors connecting Hyderabad with Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, while also clearing a series of decisions relating to transgenders representation in urban local bodies (ULBs), public works, panchayat finances and irrigation projects.
The Cabinet was informed by the roads and buildings department about the revised alignments and proposed station locations for the three bullet train corridors that received approval from the Centre in the Union Budget 2026-27. The projects include the Hyderabad–Pune–Mumbai, Hyderabad–Bengaluru and Hyderabad–Amaravati–Tirupati–Chennai HSR corridors. The state government also decided to establish a major rail hub near Shamshabad to serve as the central interchange for the proposed bullet train network.
In a move towards greater inclusion, the Cabinet approved a proposal to amend the Telangana Municipalities Act, 2019, to enable the nomination of transgender persons as co-opted members in elected municipal bodies. At present, municipalities and municipal corporations have five co-opted members. The amendment proposes increasing the number to six, with the additional seat being reserved for a transgender representative.
The Cabinet also expressed concern over the rising gap between administrative sanctions and the actual cost of engineering works undertaken by the government. It noted that project costs were escalating well beyond initial estimates, resulting in delays in execution and increasing the financial burden on the state goverment through repeated revisions of project estimates.
To address these issues, the Cabinet approved the constitution of a high-level committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to evolve a uniform policy covering every stage of public works, including project appraisal, preparation of project proposals, land acquisition, procurement, tendering, contract management and bill payments. The committee will formulate standard operating procedures to improve project planning, execution and financial discipline.
The cabinet also approved amendments to the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, relating to the management of gram panchayat funds. Under the existing system, funds are deposited only in the state government treasury. The proposed amendment will allow gram panchayats to deposit their funds in nearby nationalised banks, cooperative banks or post offices, providing greater operational flexibility and easier access to financial services.
The cabinet approved the completion of the Mukteshwar lift irrigation scheme, also known as the "Mini Kaleshwaram" project. The scheme aims to lift 4.5 tmc ft of water from the Godavari River at Kannepalli to provide irrigation to about 45,000 acres in Manthani Assembly constituency. The government decided to assess the works already completed and accord approval for the remaining components required to complete the project and make it operational.