If there is anybody facing more anguish than the people of Seemandhra after the bifurcation of the State, it is L & T. The company has already invested Rs 4000 crore in the ‘Metro Rail Project’ and finds itself at the receiving end of KCR’s apathy. It can neither continue with the project which is becoming more and more untenable with each passing day nor can it exit the project. The issue expectedly is the realignment of the route in old city area of Hyderabad.
The MIM which as of now is an ally of the TRS has asked for a realignment of the route in certain areas of Old City citing a threat to heritage structures, the names of which nobody even knows. KCR eager to please the MIM or perhaps to revel in his new found glory of CM has asked Metro Rail to come up with a realignment plan. The Congress and TDP are vehemently opposing the realignment saying that the original route was scientifically designed taking soil strength etc into consideration and changes cannot be made at will.
While TRS politicians say that the ‘Metro Rail Authorities’ have been informed of the proposed realignment, the actual fact of the matter is that there has been no official confirmation from the government so far. The issue has been dragging for six months now and work along the disputed areas has come to a complete halt. KCR is unable to come up with a political consensus for the realignment failing which he cannot give ‘Metro Rail’, the go ahead.
Meanwhile, the company does not have a deadline before which they can expect a resolution of the issue and its costs continue to escalate. Earlier, when L & T threatened to pull out of the project citing harassment from KCR, the Centre put the project under the auspices of the ‘Project Management Group’ which works directly under the ‘Prime Minister’s Office’ (PMO). L & T is now considering approaching this ‘body’ once again for redressal of its grievances.
One fails to understand the lackadaisical approach of KCR with regard to the Metro Rail issue. Unless he offers a conducive working atmosphere to L & T to complete the project successfully it will cause irrevocable damage to ‘Brand Hyderabad’. He cannot allow parties like MIM to dictate the agenda of development. Unless he backs his statements with concrete action, there will be few takers for his promises of a ‘Bangaru Telangana’ or a ‘Vendi Telangana’.
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