Telangana CM demands immediaterelease of Rs 13,600 crore from IRFC to state

Hyderabad : Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday demanded that the Centre release, without further delay, a sum of Rs 13,600 crore towards term loan refinancing for the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase I, acquired by the state government from Larsen & Toubro Limited. Revanth Reddy also demanded that the Centre clarify whether it will be part of Phase II of the Hyderabad Metro or not. Addressing a press conference, he said if the Centre was not ready to be part of Phase II, it should give a No Objection Certificate (NOC) so that the state government can go ahead with the expansion on its own. He claimed that a Japanese agency had already released the funds to IRFC, and the amount was due to be transferred to the Telangana government on June 1. He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Kishan Reddy, and MP Etala Rajender to intervene and ensure that Telangana get its rightful share of the funds. On May 25, the state government signed an agreement with the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) for a term loan refinancing facility.