HYDERABAD: Union minister for railways,
Piyush Goyal, on Tuesday denied that the Central government was discriminating against
Telangana over allocation of
railway budget.
He rebutted the statement of Telangana animal husbandry minister T Srinivas Yadav about the railway ministry giving preference to north India while starving Telangana of fund .
“The discrimination between north and south India, which TRS minister Srinivas Yadav alleged, used to happen during the Congress rule, and not during Narendra Modi’s governance,” said Goyal. “Also, before our government came into power, Telangana was sanctioned Rs 258 crore for railway projects in 2014-15. After BJP came into power, the state was sanctioned a budget of Rs 2,602 crore in 2020-21, 10 times more than what the previous government sanctioned.”
After laying the foundation stone for Cherlapalli satellite station in the east, Goyal said the project will cost about Rs 250 crore. “If the state government helps us in land acquisition for railway projects, I assure to the people of Telangana that none of the projects will be stalled because of financial constraints,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Union minister of state for home affairs, G Kishan Reddy, said, “Thousands of people visit Yadagirigutta every day from Hyderabad and other districts. I request the railway ministry to extend MMTS services up to Yadagirigutta at the earliest. The city is becoming congested due to traffic and to address that issue, MMTS phase II should also begin without any further delay.”
Goyal also requested the state government to release its share of Rs 400 crore for completing the pending works of MMTS phase II project. “We have finished phase I of MMTS. Till now, the Centre has invested more than Rs 500 crore in MMTS, which is a joint project between central and state government. I request Srinivas Yadav to see that the state’s budget for MMTS is released without delay so we can speed up the phase II works. The works between Moula Ali to Sanathnagar, which is a very important stretch, have been stalled because of the delay in funds from the state government.”
Congress MP from Bhongir, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, submitted a representation to Goyal requesting to sanction a road over bridge at Narketpally between Chityal Railway Station and Srirampur Railway Station to avoid accidents as people have to cross from the railway gate. The MP also requested Goyal to halt trains at Ramanapet, Bhongir, Aler and Jangaon railway stations for devotees travelling to Yadagirigutta.
Goyal also laid foundation stones for development of satellite terminal at Cherlapalli railway station, electrification of Yerraguntla-Nandyal section, dedicated double line with electrification of Guntakal-Kalluru section, and free high-speed Wi-Fi facility at 427 railway stations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.