The Center continues to delay approval of Phase II of HMRL as a joint venture with the Telangana government

Inordinate delay continues in the central government’s approval of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase II project as a joint venture with the state government.

Despite repeated requests from the state government to approve the joint venture, the Union Cabinet, which met on Wednesday, did not take up the issue. The cabinet approved the extension of the Ahmedabad Metro route and revealed the manner in which the request from Telangana is being handled.

Interestingly, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said the Telangana government submitted a revised proposal to implement seven corridors under the second phase covering 122.9 km with a completion cost of ₹ 38,595 crore on 5 May. The matter was still under evaluation, the ministry said.

In response to an RTI query late last month, the ministry said urban transport is a state-owned entity. Planning and development of urban transport system including Metro is done by respective State Governments/Union Territories. The Central Government would consider financial assistance to these projects in accordance with the existing policy depending on the feasibility of the project and availability of resources as and when provided by the State Governments/Union Territories.

When asked about the proposed central share, funding model (50:50 JV or otherwise), international loan/debt component and any conditions imposed by the central government, the ministry said: “As the proposal is in the evaluation stage, no cost sharing is possible at this stage.”

When further asked for details of any CAG / internal audits or fairness comments in previous phases or current proposals, he replied “no such information is available”. The Union Ministry’s responses came at a time when the Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy-led government criticized the Center for its step-motherly attitude towards Telangana.

Published – 11 Jun 2026 19:48 IST