PNS|Hyderabad
Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday announced that, for the first time in country, Rs26,000-crore Outer Ring Rail (ORR) project would be taken up in Hyderabad soon.
The final survey of the Outer Ring Railproject in connection with the ambitious Regional Ring Road has been given the go-ahead. He said that Rs 14 crore had been allocated for the purpose.
The Regional Ring Road on the one hand and the Outer Ring Rail project on the other hand, both prestigious projects, would bring positive changes in the social and economic conditions of the people of Hyderabad city and surrounding areas. Kishan Reddy said that the details of the project had been shared with the State Government and that around 99 percent of the preparations for the route map had been completed.
Speaking to the media at his residence in Delhi on Wednesday, Kishan Reddy said that the construction of the project would be a supplement to the Outer Ring Road connecting the railway lines on all sides of Hyderabad. He said that, along with public transport, the transportation of goods would also increase, leading to significant business development.
Kishan Reddy stated that the new railway facility would be available even to areas having no railway connectivity so far and Hyderabad city could be reached quickly and easily from those areas.
Kishan Reddy said that lakhs of new jobs would be created through the industries, malls, entertainment centers, satellite towns etc., which would come up around the Regional Ring Road, through which education, business and employment opportunities would increase in a big way and medical facilities would also be available on time. The convenience would increase a lot through the new railway project. He said that the project would become very crucial for the development of Hyderabad in particular and Telangana in general.
Kishan Reddy also revealed that one and a half crore rupees had been allocated for the survey of the 61 km railway line between Karimnagar and Hasanparthi. Further, for the convenience of devotees, the second phase of MMTS up to Yadadri would be taken up with the central government funds at a cost of Rs.330 crore.
According to the earlier decision, two-thirds (2/3) of the costs were supposed to be borne by the state, but as they did not come forward, the Centerdecided to bear the entire cost.
Kishan Reddy said that the Center had sanctioned Rs.2,102 crore for the financial year 2023-24 as part of the ‘Capital Investment Special Support Scheme for States’ launched by the Center in 2020-21 to provide timely support to the capital expenditure of the State Governments. It is known that the Center had started the scheme as an interest-free loan for 50 years to the state governments with the intention of providing some relief from the damage caused to the states due to Corona. As part of this scheme, the central government has sanctioned Rs.5,221.92 crore to Telangana State from 2020-21 to 2023-24.
Kishan Reddy said that in the past, the central government had approved the establishment of a National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) center in Telangana with state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities to enable effective implementation of various schemes related to the Central Health and Family Welfare Department in Telangana State and to provide support to the state government in the diagnosis of developing diseases. However, Kishan Reddy said that the state had not yet transferred the land required for the establishment of thecenter in Genome Valley. Kishan Reddy said that it was a very ambitious project for the state and the sooner such things were completed, the better for the people of the state.
Kishan Reddy stated that the recently concluded G20 ministerial level Tourism meetings in Goa were very fruitful and plans were prepared to reach the goals of sustainable development as well as global tourism development through the Goa road map. He said that the Global Tourism Investors Summit would be held in Delhi in September to take Indian tourism to new heights.
On this occasion, the Union Minister responded to a question asked by journalists about the change of BJP leadership in the state, saying that there is no such thing and described all the news coming in this regard as ‘completely false’.
