Title - Metro rail ready to talk to Iskcon for land

The Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) is ready to hold negotiations with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon), Secunderabad, on the proposal to acquire land belonging to the organisation, HMR managing director NVS Reddy said.Speaking to reporters on Thursday, after the inspection of Uppal metro rail depot by members of the 14th Finance Commission, Reddy said it has become necessary to acquire a portion of the Iskcon land to avoid trains taking a sharp curve. So, we requested the organisation to give us a portion of land, but they are alleging that HMR is forcibly trying to take over the land, he said.As they are against the proposal, the GHMC proceeded in a legal way to acquire the land, he said. “We are open to negotiations and want to settle the issue amicably even today to avoid further controversy. The state government, through negotiations, could acquire a dozen properties belonging to religious places in the twin cities,” Reddy added.

Earlier, the Finance Commission members Sushama Nath, M Govind Rao, Sudipta Maundle and AN Jha went around the metro rail depot. Reddy explained to the members about the progress of work and informed them that the HMR project is going to be a world class public transportation system in PPP mode. It is going to be an efficient, reliable and economical transport system for the people of Greater Hyderabad, he said.

He explained about the state-of-the-art systems being created under the project, such as modern signalling and communication-based train control (CBTC), and the technology being used for the first time in India. It will be a seamless travel for commuters through integration of rail terminals, bus depots and MMTS stations, he said.

The first phase works from Nagole to Mettuguda (8 km) will be completed by December 2014 and trains will run from March 2015.