HYDERABAD

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directly blamed the Union Coal Minister G. Kishan Reddy for stalling the release of funds from Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) for the second phase of Hyderabad Metro Rail while alleging that it was being done at the behest of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao and its working president K.T. Rama Rao.

At a press conference held at the State Secretariat in Hyderabad on Monday (June 15, 2026), the Chief Minister claimed he had the evidence to prove that Mr. Kishan Reddy had impressed upon the Union Ministers Manohar Lal Khattar and Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create hurdles when the State government had met all the conditions of the IRFC, and ₹1400 crores were to be released today (June 15, 2026).

“Why isn’t the Centre clearing funds for Hyderabad Metro second phase when it was clearing Metro Rail projects for much smaller cities like Ahmedabad, Visakhapatnam and others,” he sought to know. “I am directly blaming Mr. Kishan Reddy for his conspiracy and I have the evidence,” he said.

He urged Mr. Kishan Reddy to either facilitate the transfer of funds for the Metro Rail Phase-II or grant a No Objection Certificate (NOC) allowing the State to execute the project independently.

“The Centre must clarify whether it is willing to partner in the 122-km Metro Phase-II project or whether it will grant an NOC for Telangana to proceed independently. The people of Hyderabad deserve an answer,” the Chief Minister said. “You need not contribute your 50% share. Give us the NOC and we will bear the entire cost of Metro expansion,” he said.

Mr. Revanth Reddy reminded that the State government had to acquire the Metro Rail after L&T made it clear that it was not in a position to undertake Phase-II due to accumulated losses. Despite creating assets worth nearly ₹30,000 crore, the company informed us that it continues to incur annual losses of around ₹400 crore.

The State government’s acquisition of Phase-II was also to meet the Centre’s stipulation that the second phase be executed by the same agency that operated the first phase. He claimed that the State government had acquired Metro assets worth nearly ₹30,000 crore for about ₹15,000 crore.

The Chief Minister stated that L&T had raised loans of ₹13,600 crore at an interest rate of 8.25% and that the State government sought approval from the Centre to transfer those liabilities. Telangana had worked to secure lower-cost financing through the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) and had arranged funding from a Japanese agency at an interest rate of around 4%.

The Chief Minister recalled that the Metro Rail project was originally conceived during the Congress regime and brought to Hyderabad under the leadership of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and then Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy.

The target was to complete the project by 2017. However, he alleged that after the formation of Telangana, the project faced delays due to hurdles created by the previous BRS government, resulting in a three-year setback.

“The project, which was initially estimated at ₹15,000 crore, ultimately cost around ₹22,000 crore. Delays and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the executing company, L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad, into financial distress,” he said. He also alleged that despite being in power for a decade, the previous government failed to pursue Metro expansion.

Mr. Revanth Reddy reminded that much of the proposed Metro expansion would benefit areas represented by BJP MPs, including Kishan Reddy’s Secunderabad and Etala Rajender’s Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituencies. But Mr. Kishan Reddy was dancing to the tunes of KTR to stall the project in Hyderabad to continuously defame the Congress government, he alleged.

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy speaking on Hyderabad Metro Rail expansion, at a press conference held at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat in the city on Monday (June 15, 2026)
| Video Credit:
NAGARA GOPAL