Telangana sets up high-level committee to study Metro takeover, expansion
The Telangana Cabinet has established a high-level committee, led by the Chief Secretary, to conduct an in-depth study on the feasibility and other aspects related to the takeover of the first phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail from L&T.
The State government recently decided to buy out the L&T stake and manage it itself. The idea is to remove all the hurdles to kick-start the Metro expansion project.
Addressing a press conference to brief the decisions made by the State Cabinet on Thursday, Telangana Information and Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said that the Cabinet has decided to expedite the Metro Rail expansion process.
“A lengthy discussion was held on the subject of taking over the first phase from L&T, which is operated in PPP mode and has become an obstacle for the Metro 2A and 2B expansion,” the Minister said.
The committee includes the Principal Secretary (Finance), Secretary (Municipal Administration and Urban Development), the Law Secretary, and the Metro Rail Managing Director.
Record paddy production
The minister said the State expected an output of 1.48 crore tonne of paddy in the kharif season.
“We are planning to procure 80 lakh tonne. The Central government agreed to procure 50 lakh tonne. They said they are not in a position to procure more as the godowns are full. The Cabinet has decided to request the Centre to procure an additional 15 lakh tonne more,” he said.
“The Cabinet has decided to deposit the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy, along with the ₹500 bonus for super fine variety rice, directly into the farmers’ accounts,” he said.
The Cabinet also decided to establish three new agricultural colleges in the State, including one in Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s constituency, Kodangal.
It has been decided to eliminate the norm that bars people from contesting in local body elections if they have more than two children.
It also approved a proposal to allocate an additional seven acres of land to NALSAR University of Law at its current location. The university resolved to increase the reservation quota for Telangana locals in admissions from the current 25 per cent to 50 per cent.
Published on October 17, 2025
