Title - Hyderabad Metro Rail Project will be completed by 2017: Andhra Pradesh government

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh government today said it was confident of completion of the ambitious Hyderabad Metro Rail Project on schedule by 2017 with project-related work gaining momentum as per plan.The work has begun in two phases with 60 pillars being laid. The state government is monitoring the progress of work to complete the project on time. The state government is spending about Rs. 2,000 crore towards the facilitation of the project, Municipal Administration Minister M Maheedhar Reddy said.He was speaking to reporters as part of the 'Praja Hitham' (public interest) programme under which progress report of each department is presented once in a week.Maheedhar Reddy informed that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has sought completion of the project by 2016 itself, following which the state government is making all efforts to remove "bottlenecks" like land acquisition and road widening.Out of total project cost of Rs. 14,132 crore, the Centre bears 10 per cent of it, while the private partner L&T shoulders remaining 90 per cent of the cost, he said.On holding municipal elections in the state, Maheedhar Reddy said the government will approach court to conduct the polls as per 2001 Census data as the 2012 data is not available right now.