Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu got a class from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being silent on the Hyderabad Metro controversy. Metro Rail projects come under Urban Development Ministry but Venkaiah remained silent on the ongoing tussle between Telangana government and the construction company, L&T. Modi reported was upset with Venkaiah silence and demanded an explanation. It is said that the later requested Modi to keep him away as TRS will attack him for creating problems to the state being a Seema Andhra person.
Modi puts Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to solve this issue and summoned Telangana Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma to Delhi to inform him the Center will not entertain any changes in the design. The Telangana CM’s demand for change in the design will have a hefty penalty of approximately Rs 6,000 crore. The project cost will also escalate from the original Rs 14,132 crore to over Rs.20,000 if inflation, currency fluctuation, and fluctuation in the rate of interest are factored in. According to the sources, per day’s delay would increase the cost of the project by Rs 5 crore.
