Revanth Urges MPs To Raise Telangana Issues In Parliament

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday called upon MPs from the Telangana to work together, rising above political affiliations, to secure the state's long-pending interests from the Centre. Stressing that Telangana's development should be the sole objective, he urged MPs to focus on obtaining pending approvals for irrigation projects, infrastructure works and key proposals during the Monsoon Session of Parliament scheduled to begin on July 21.

The Chief Minister addressed the MPs after a presentation on issues pending with the Centre. While Congress and BJP MPs were present, those from the BRS boycotted the event.

Revanth Reddy said that while six major metropolitan cities accounted for nearly 10 per cent of India's population, they contributed about 25 per cent of the country's GDP, and underscored the need for strengthening Hyderabad's national stature. He urged MPs to meet Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and seek approval for establishing an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Hyderabad.

Revanth Reddy also briefed MPs on discussions with the Centre regarding the takeover of Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) Phase-I and the expansion of Phase-II. He specifically appealed to BJP MPs Etala Rajender and Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, who attended the meeting, to pursue the issue with the Centre.

On the Regional Ring Road (RRR), the Chief Minister said 95 per cent of land acquisition for the northern section had been completed and that the Centre's Cabinet approval was required to commence works as well as to facilitate land acquisition for the southern section. He urged MPs to accord top priority to the matter.

Informing them that the first phase of the Musi River rejuvenation project had reached the stage of floating tenders, Revanth Reddy said the project required an approval letter from the Centre to be taken up under the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF). He asked MPs to meet Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar and seek quick approval.

The Chief Minister explained the recent discussions chaired by Union jal shakti minister C.R. Patil with the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on inter-state river water issues. He said Telangana was entitled to receive 15.09 tmc ft of water from the Tungabhadra project but was receiving only around 5 tmc ft because of silt accumulation. The state had requested Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to cooperate in desilting the reservoir and canals, and MPs were asked to pursue the issue with the the jal shakti minister.

On river interlinking, Revanth Reddy said the Centre had agreed to convince Chhattisgarh to facilitate diversion of Godavari waters to Nagarjunasagar. He said Chhattisgarh had an allocation of 300 tmc ft of Godavari water but was not utilising the full share. Even if it used 160 tmc ft in future, about 143 tmc ft would remain surplus, of which Telangana could potentially secure 43 tmc ft.

He said the proposed Godavari-Cauvery river interlinking project, which envisages carrying Godavari waters through Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, should be pursued vigorously. Since the water belonged to Chhattisgarh while funding would come from the Centre, Telangana should strive to secure both resources in its favour, he said.

The Chief Minister said Andhra Pradesh should issue no-objection certificates (NOCs) for projects in Telangana initiated during the undivided Andhra Pradesh era. He said the matter had been discussed with minister C.R. Patil and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who had agreed in principle. Once the NOCs were issued, hurdles to the projects would be removed, he said. Revanth Reddy also proposed meeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with MPs to finalise construction of the Tummidihatti project at the 150-151 feet level.

On transport infrastructure, he said alignments had been finalised for proposed bullet train corridors connecting Shamshabad airport with Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai. He added that land acquisition had been completed for the proposed defence airport at Adilabad and the airport at Warangal. The state was seeking establishment of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities and air cargo hubs at these airports, and MPs were requested to pursue the proposals with the Centre.

Reiterating that the state government was maintaining a cooperative approach with the Centre in the larger interests of Telangana, Revanth Reddy announced that IAS officer Advait Kumar Singh had been appointed at Telangana Bhavan in Delhi to coordinate with MPs on pending issues. The Chief Minister also asked MP convener Dr Mallu Ravi to coordinate all MPs across party lines.

Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, BJP MPs Etala Rajender and Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, Congress MPs Dr Mallu Ravi, Kadiyam Kavya, Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, Kunduru Raghuveer Reddy and B Anil Kumar Yadav, Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju and senior officials from various departments attended the meeting.