Hyderabad: The Telangana state government has to pay Rs 415 crore for the construction of the Multi Modal Transport System (MMTS) phase II. A recent Right to Information (RTI) query revealed that the Railways has received only Rs 129 crore from the state, out of which '60 crore was given by the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh government; the Telangana state government has given only Rs 69 crore.
The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 816.55 crore. Those eagerly awaiting the second phase of the MMTS are questioning the hollow promises of finishing the project “this year”, with the current pace of budget release.
Resident welfare associations from Malkajgiri, ECIL and other areas have been demanding the phase II service for long. It takes about two hours to connect to these areas through roads and there is no Metro service.
Mr B.T. Srinivas, who lives in Malkajgiri, says, “Most of our colony students and employees are staying away from their homes, in hostels, as it takes hours to commute and tiring to travel in a bus. If the MMTS Phase II starts, our kids will be back home as it will reduce the commuting distance significantly.”
The MMTS Phase II project, which began in 2010, was to be completed by March 2018. This was pushed back to December 2018, a deadline that has passed without any new deadline being announced. The reply to the RTI query mentions the date of the MMTS Phase II launch as being dependent on the receipt of balance funds from the Telangana state government.
According to official information, more than 30 per cent of the work is pending.
Railway officials say they can start operations in the 70 per cent that is ready if the state government releases the funds.
