Revanth urges MPs to keep State’s interests on top in Monsoon session
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy asked Parliament members to put the State’s interest on the top, cutting across party affiliations, to secure Central approvals for
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy asked Parliament members to put the State’s interest on the top, cutting across party affiliations, to secure Central approvals for key infrastructure, irrigation and transport projects critical to the State’s development. Addressing the MPs after a PowerPoint presentation on issues pending with the Centre ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the Chief Minister said he would go to any length in the State’s interests and all the MPs from the State should take a similar view. To strengthen coordination with MPs, the Chief Minister announced the appointment of IAS officer Advait Kumar Singh at Telangana Bhavan in New Delhi to provide prompt information. While the BJP MPs attended the meeting, the BRS MPs skipped it.
On Hyderabad Metro Rail, he briefed MPs on discussions with the Centre on the Metro Rail Phase-I and Phase-II. He said the Centre had agreed to appoint SBI CAPS as the consultant for the Phase-I takeover process and appealed to BJP MPs Eatala Rajender and Konda Vishweshwar Reddy to help expedite the process. The Chief Minister said he planned to meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the Tummidihatti project. Reddy said nearly 95% of land acquisition for the northern section of the Regional Ring Road (RRR) had been completed, while the southern section awaited Union Cabinet approval for land acquisition. On the Musi River rejuvenation project, he said the first phase had reached the tender stage and sought MPs’ support in securing an approval letter from the Centre under the Urban Challenge Fund.
Revanth Reddy also briefed MPs on recent discussions chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil involving the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on inter-State river water issues. He said Telangana was entitled to 15.09 tmc ft of water from the Tungabhadra project but was receiving only around 5 tmc ft due to heavy silt accumulation. He urged MPs to impress upon the Union government to facilitate desiltation of the reservoir. Similarly, the Centre had agreed to persuade Chhattisgarh to facilitate the proposed Godavari-Nagarjunasagar river link. While Chhattisgarh had an allocation of 300 tmc ft in the Godavari basin, substantial surplus water remained unutilised, offering Telangana the possibility of accessing around 43 tmc ft. He also referred to the proposed Godavari-Cauvery river-link project and asked MPs to ensure Telangana’s interests were protected.
The BriefWire