HYDERABAD (Metro Rail News): In the State Budget 2023-24, the lion’s share was received by the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) and Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited (HAML), with the former allocated Rs 2,000 crore and the latter Rs 500 crore.
This Rs 2,000 crore for HMRL included Rs 500 crore for the 5.5 km MGBS-Falaknuma Metro Rail line. As a result, the HMWS&SB was given a lower amount of Rs 1,961 crore compared to the Rs 1,625 crore during the financial year 2022-23, the HMDA Rs 200.1 crore, the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (MRDCL) remained at Rs 200 crore, and the GHMC was given Rs 95.60 crore.
With the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad having seen a sharp rise in the number of travellers, Finance Minister T. Harish Rao stated that the expanded facilities costing Rs 7,500 crore, expected to be ready by June, will be able to handle four crore passengers annually.
He declared that the Metro Rail connection to the airport, costing Rs 6,250 crore, could be finished within three years with state financing. Of the Rs 500 crore for the Airport Metro, Rs 377.25 crore is to be apportioned from the Scheduled Castes Special Development Fund (SCSDF) and Rs 45.4 crore from the Scheduled Tribes Special Development Fund (STSDF). Rs 500 crore was also allotted last year for the Falaknuma line, yet it appears not to have been accepted.