Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced that the state government is ready to fund the Hyderabad Metro Rail phase-2 project with 100% equity without the Centre's share.
The move comes after the Centre allegedly went back on its promise to be a joint venture partner in the project, with Reddy accusing the Centre of discrimination against Telangana in approving metro rail projects for other states.
Reddy claimed that the Centre had agreed to sanction the project with a 50% share of the total cost but has now refused to permit the transfer of a loan from Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) to the state government.
The loan, worth ₹13,600 crore, was secured at an interest rate of 4% to clear L&T's outstanding bank loans of ₹13,600 crore at an interest rate of 8.25%.
Reddy alleged that Union minister G Kishan Reddy had pressured the Centre to stall the release of the loan amount, and demanded that the Centre issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the project to expedite works.
