Telangana government owes ₹832.43 crore in all to the South Central Railway (SCR). This includes the ₹265.35-crore dues as part of its share for the MMTS Phase-II works for which it was supposed to pick up two-thirds of the overall cost, which has ballooned to about ₹1,150 crore on account of delays over the years.
But, it is not major component of the dues listed by the SCR in a recent communication to the government. It has also re-opened the old ‘wounds’ by putting a figure of ₹540 crore as compensation for “illegal occupation” of the Railway land taken over for road widening and also to later facilitate the metro rail construction from the Sangeet junction till Tarnaka about 15 years ago in 2008.
Railway officials charge that the land was unauthorisedly taken over by demolishing compound walls and other structures even while discussions were still going on for taking over 52,938 sq.mts of land. The then government had deposited provisional payment of ₹45 crore subject to final disposal and as per the current valuation, the amount has risen to ₹540 crore and a letter addressed to GHMC last year in October did not elicit any response, they said.
