Centre finds shortfalls in the BHEL metro project, says DPR needs to be updated

HYDERABAD: The Centre has pointed out to certain shortfalls in the government’s plan to build the 26-km BHEL-Lakdikapul Hyderabad Metro Rail as well as the five-km extension between Nagole and LB Nagar. The state government had sought funds from the Centre for the projects.

In a letter written by Vikash Kumar, under secretary, Union ministry of housing and urban affairs, to Arvind Kumar, special chief secretary MA&UD, the Centre said that the cost mentioned in the detailed project report (DPR) sent on October 27, 2022, was not as per the benchmark rates released in February 2019.

The letter pointed out that the contingency of 3 per cent had to be calculated on basic price and the status of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) had to be provided along with the cost escalation.

The Centre also asked for justification for selecting the alignment as well as the details of the external funding agency.

The Centre found that the peak hour peak direction traffic (PHPDT) and ridership was not enough to justify the project. It could be supplemented by other modes or by feeder systems, it said.

As per the Metro Rail Policy 2017, the Centre directed the government to constitute Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) as a statutory body and to elaborate the details on the government’s effort in ensuring financial stability of the proposed metro project, as well as to furnish the details of the items covered under Public Private Partnership (PPP) along with the cost.

The details were shared by the Union housing ministry in response to a RTI filed by activist I. Ravi Kumar who had requested the details on the DPR of the proposed project and the letter written by Rama Rao to the Centre.