‘The Hindu’, Hyderabad siding with Metro Rail scandal
Ramachandraiah Chigurupati
Dear all,
‘The Hindu’ in association with the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) is going to organize an interactive session with, Mr. NVS Reddy, Managing Director of Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) on Friday, 8 April 2011. The entry is by invitation only.
Is The Hindu keen on facilitating an open debate on this controversial project? If so, why now when all the necessary arrangements have been made by the project promoters to lay foundation stone and are waiting for Prime Minister’s time for the event? How is it that an esteemed newspaper like The Hindu is keen on organizing this meeting?
The fact is that The Hindu has never given a balanced coverage to the views of the civil society organizations on this project. On the other hand, it has acted as an (un)official voice to this project. The HMR project is a scam in many ways. Several provisions of the Concession Agreement signed with L&T are detrimental to public interest. Even today the copies of DPRs and Traffic Studies are not made available to the public. They claim it to be their intellectual property. The Hindu, Hyderabad City seems to have no problem with it.
The civil society organizations have been making their views open on this project for the last four years. A booklet has also been published on this which can be accessed in www.citizenhyderabad.in. Our views on this project and Hyderabad's traffic are based on our research, expert opinions, our acquaintance with the city and its specific characteristics, the available alternatives, the current international trends etc. We are not blindly against any particular project.
If The Hindu were sincere about an interactive session, it should have been held when the controversies were raised on this project. The interactive session planned by The Hindu together with FAPCCI is designed to give legitimacy to the Metro project which is a scam. Two such events have been held already (including the one by The Hindu in the name of traffic and transportation problems in the city), and another by Hyderabad Management Assn on 7 April with Governor as the chief guest and NVS Reddy as the main speaker. FAPCCI has been the venue for all the events. More such ones may be held in the coming days.
This is a clear corporate strategy to make the scam-tainted project gain wider acceptance. It is unfortunate that a paper of such a high standard has stooped so low regarding this project.
We have said earlier itself that the project cost has crossed Rs. 15000 cr. Now the L&T has admitted that it has crossed Rs. 16000 cr. It will cross 20000 cr soon. Public transportation is not the aim of this project. Companies, contractors and commissions are driving this project. It is an entirely elevated corridor through the core city and is going to deface the city beyond redemption. People are going to pay a heavy price because of this project. We will continue to air our views on these issues in the coming days and expose the players behind this scam. It is unfortunate that The Hindu is siding with a scam-tainted project in Hyderabad.
With regards,
Dr. C. Ramachandraiah
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest”, - Elie Wiesel (Nobel Peace Prize Lecture, December 11, 1986).